House of the Wicked: The Thirteen Devils
by XTheSonofHadesX
Summary: Percy Jackson has been sent from home, in search of long lost relatives, with no idea who they are. Sent to the deep south, Percy finds himself surrounded by religious churchgoers and a group of outcasted individuals. Between a death, a crazy religious woman trying to cook for him, and an angry black haired boy, Percy's not so sure he wants to find his family in a place like this.
1. Chapter 1

_Welcome, welcome. Gaze upon my new story. I couldn't decide between House of the Wicked and Thirteen Devils, so I went with both. As I've said, I figured it would be nice to give my old readers something to entertain them with, while I get Children caught up. I've actually had this story in my head for a very long time now. But then I couldn't quite get it pieced together, so it sat in a folder on my computer for several months. And then I had inspiration! I could tell you the inspiration, but that would give away the plot. I'll share it when the story moves along. Until then, I'll share some songs that I think fit this story: Seven Devils by Florence and the Machine, Demons by Imagine Dragons, Black by Kari Kimmel, and House of the Rising Sun by Lauren O'Connell. That might have just given things away..._

_So, I said I had some news to share when I posted something new. And, well, it's time, I suppose. I no longer have a beta. Bragi and I have cut our ties to each other, or so it would seem. Not really going to talk about it, but we've gone our separate ways. So, yeah, just be aware that I'm editing my chapters myself, and I may miss errors. I also may not go in the best direction for a story at times. I suppose it's just something we'll have to wait and see with. I just felt it was something that needed to be share, mainly over the issue with possible increases in grammar errors. Perhaps it won't be a total disaster. I feel fine with Children, I have everything mapped out in my head for that story to utter perfection. But, with the new stories, I suppose it makes me a little anxious._

_Warning: Language. Slight religious bashing, if you squint real hard. Slash._

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

Chapter 1

He had to move faster. That was all thirteen year old Percy Jackson had going through his mind as he kicked off the wall and swam back the way he had just come from. The water was calming to him, even if people were yelling, and other boys were furiously swimming beside him. The water just drowned it out. He felt calm.

He just wanted to impress his parents. They had taken time out to come watch his regionals' match, and he was never one to disappoint when it came to his parents. They were surely in the crowd, watching and cheering him on. He wanted to make them proud, even if they constantly reminded him that they would always be proud of him.

Even though it was his first year at his high school, he had quickly become one of the best on his team. His father had always had him around the beaches in California. He had even learned to surf at a young age. So, Percy had quickly become a natural in the water, and his father constantly reminded him of it. And his mother was not much different. She would always place her hand on Percy's cheek in that motherly way and tell him he was special.

The water practically parted for him as he swam towards the end of the pool. His arms were sore, as were his legs, but none of that mattered. He knew the end was near, and he knew what he wanted. All he had to do was reach out and grab it.

A horn was blown as he grabbed the edge of the pool. A huge grin broke out across his face as he removed the goggles from his eyes and looked around. He found his parents clapping for him, his mother raising the camera for a picture. He beamed at them as he raised his fist up victoriously.

He ended up being wrapped in a large towel and hugged by his parents. He got a trophy and lots of congratulations from his friends. Percy smiled brightly for all the pictures he was forced to take for the next hour, the trophy held tightly in his arms.

Percy was then swept away to dinner of his choice, with the promise of ice cream after. "Percy, you did swimmingly out there today," Poseidon said as the three family members at their dinner. The mother and son groaned at him.

"Was that supposed to be a bad pun, Dad?" Percy made a face before shoving another bite of pizza into his mouth. As delicious as it was, it would never beat the kind his mother made. It would, sadly, never be blue. The one time he had asked for them to make his blue, he had gotten stared at very oddly.

All Percy was met with was a warbling voice, whispering in the distance. A chill ran down his spine as he looked up. Suddenly, the place felt darker, the walls felt closer. And his parents were nowhere to be found. He stood there, alone, in darkness.

In the distance, there was a streetlight. At its base stood a man, cigarette lit in his mouth. Taking in a deep breath, the man's face was illuminated for Percy. The corner of the man's lips tilted up. He took a step to the side, revealing Percy's father. Poseidon fell to his knees, and Percy saw it.

A bullet hole was centered in Poseidon's skull. Percy's eyes widened in panic as he dashed away from the man under the streetlight. Fear overtook him. It pumped through his veins as his feet carried him as fast as they could. Blood began to flow down the streets, into the drains, like rain.

Car horns were blown, though Percy never came across any. There were screams and gunshots, but Percy kept running. He refused to stop, until he heard his name being yelled. "Percy!"

He knew that voice. "Mom!" He yelled into the darkness.

The reply came in the form of a gunshot. He froze as the bullet came towards him. But his mother was there, suddenly, standing in front of him. She grabbed him as tightly as she could, shielding him from the bullet.

The woman's nails sank into his back, the sound of the bullet sinking into his mother piercing his ears like an explosion. He stood there, shaking, as his mother's grip loosened on him. "Mom!" He began to cry, kneeling next to her dying form.

"Run, Percy," she whispered.

But, before he could react, a sharp pain filled his chest. He looked down to find his shirt soaked in blood. Percy slowly fell onto his side. He lay there, facing his mother's dead body. The sounds of guns going off still filled his ears, his blood pooling around him.

In no time at all, Sally's eyes shot open and she reached out and grabbed his neck. Her face had become decayed, and her teeth were rotten. Her nails felt like needles as they held him. "Percy!" She wailed and lunged at him.

A sixteen year old Percy Jackson shot up in his seat. His breathing was ragged as he ran a hand through his shaggy, black hair. He groaned, pulling his hand away. He was covered in sweat. Though, he had to wonder if that was just from the dream. He pulled his shirt back and checked his chest. No bullet wound.

No, that had vanished just under three years ago. Still, it had become a habit of his, ever since that night. He just needed to remind himself that the nightmares were just dreams. No, that was not the right word for them. Bad reminders of what he had miraculously lived through. He let out a sigh and fell back onto his seat. He lay there, staring up at the ceiling. Making a face, he cranked his car.

"How does anyone survive in this place?" He grumbled under his breath.

Percy was starting his senior year in high school. But was he spending it with all of his friends? No, of course not. His aunt, who had decided not to accompany him on this trip-which she had forced him to go on-had decided to remain back in San Francisco.

"You need to go find your father's family," she had said one day. The most frustrating part? She did not even know if they were still in this place. Nor could she even give him a name to look for. He loved the woman, but this felt cruel, especially with the humidity and mosquitos. He had been unaware that mosquitos could even come in the size of pterodactyls, at least until reaching this place.

Louisiana, the birthplace of both his parents, or so he had been told. And even worse, it was not even in New Orleans, the one place he had wanted to visit in the state. Emphasis on the just visit part. No, he was being sent to the middle of nowhere. The place barely showed up on his phone's GPS; that was, when it actually could find signal.

The only reason he had even managed to come as far as he had managed to get as far as he had was because the people of the south definitely lived up to their reputation of hospitality. Though, in some places, when he would ask where Aimes, Louisiana was, they would look at him weird.

"Oh, you mean Aimes, son," most of them would say. He had not counted on them pronouncing the word like the word 'aims'. He would just sigh and nod.

And then there was the amount of open space. Last night, he had driven an hour before reaching the next town. And, in that time, he had barely encountered any other vehicles. And it only seemed to get worse the closer he got to the town.

"Not many people go out that ways," would be the reply from some people. To say the least, it did not ease his nerves about the entire thing. And he was not even going to get started on the lack of hills and all the swamps.

Percy blew out a breath and raised his seat. He got out of his car with a groan. As much as he had wanted to just fly out here, he did need his car. With a stretch, Percy began walking towards the rest stop he was currently parked at's main building.

A few truckers stood around inside, laughing and drinking some of the free refreshments. He wiped at his eyes and stifled a yawn as he stepped up to the desk. A tall woman with bright blonde hair smiled brightly at him. "Something you need, sugar?"

"Um," Percy rubbed the back of his hair, "I was sort of wondering if you could give me some directions to Aimes."

The woman raised a brow at him. "Well, not every day that we have people wanting to go out there," the blonde woman replied. Her accent was everything that Percy had expected from someone from the south. She pulled out a small map and pointed down at it with her bright, pink nails. "You just wanna keep going straight on this road here, sweetie. It'll take you straight into town."

"Thanks," Percy mumbled.

She gave him the look over. "Would you like some coffee, or something? It's free. You look a little sick."

The boy shook his head. "I'll be fine." He found himself unconsciously scratching his chest. He frowned and dropped his hand. "Can I keep this?" He asked, picking up the map.

She smiled a sickeningly sweet smile. "'Course, sugar. I bet the girls are gonna have a time minding themselves with a handsome young man like you coming into town."

Percy gave a lopsided smile and stepped away from the desk. Placing the map into his back pocket, he headed for the exit. He peeled his collar back again, just to check. The skin was slightly pink now from where he had been scratching.

When he got back in the car, he yanked the map out and placed it on the passenger seat. His backseat was, as expected, packed to the brim. Even the floor of the passenger seat had stuff in it. He had a few more things, but his aunt was going to be shipping that to him.

Checking his mirrors, he pulled out of the parking spot he had taken last night, his left foot already beginning to tap on its own. Tomorrow, he would be starting school, in a completely new place. He already had his schedule, which looked boring. The school's list for curriculum had not been promising. And, while he was not the biggest fan of school, he had been frustrated that some things that he had been needing to take were not being offered at his new school. And that was not even touching on the lack of sports.

Percy was, or had been, the captain of both the swim team and water polo team back at his old school. And the two things that Percy had checked first, that the school did not even have? Swimming and water polo. He had collapsed on his bed and let out a groan so loud that his aunt had heard him downstairs. But they did have baseball, which Percy had signed up for, albeit with a glare to his computer screen.

The road was fairly straight, with no sharp turns at all. And he could see for miles. He felt open, exposed as he drove. There were no hills, no mountains, anywhere. Plenty of trees, just no elevated lands. Why did these people not at least build tall buildings? After getting past Texas, he had not seen a single skyscraper.

A little over an hour later, the peaceful scenery had lost its appeal on him. "Work, dammit!" Percy groaned, dropping his phone in his lap. He winced and stopped biting his lip. He could not even recall how long he had been doing it. How was he supposed to find his apartment, if he could not even access his GPS?

On the bright side, he had found the town. Well, the exit for the town. He had parked his car and had attempted to locate his destination, with little luck. He groaned and hit his head on the steering wheel. Screw it, he thought to himself.

Shifting his car back into drive, he took off towards the town. There were a lot of trees, and not many signs of there being a town around here. He did notice, though, that there was an increase in houses.

After a few minutes, he sighed in relief upon sighting a stop sign. Sure enough, the town was just beyond it. Not very tall buildings, he noted. As he came to a stop at the sign, he took note that none of them seemed to go higher than three stories. He missed home already.

A piece of paper sat in his lap, the name of the apartments and street address scribbled down on it. He glanced down at it and leaned forward in his seat, trying to get a look at each street that he passed. He quickly found the city hall, police station, and even his new high school easily. They were actually not that far apart.

The downtown area had more people walking about. The women wore a lot of weaved hats and long dresses. He was sure he would be able to hear their hills clacking if he had been outside. The one thing they definitely did not have a shortage of were churches. Percy seemed to find one of those, almost, on every street.

Not much seemed to be open on Sunday, aside from restaurants. In a few hours, he had no doubt that everyone would be heading to get a seat at church. The streets of the downtown area were lined with small shops: clothing, jewelry, a few diners, and even a photography studio.

Two men sat outside one of the diners, chewing tobacco. Percy made a face as each of them raised an empty bottle and spit the contents of their mouth into it. Disgusting, he thought.

Thirty minutes later, he still was unable to find any trace of where he needed to go. And his phone? Completely useless. The service kept shooting up and down like one of those fountains outside of Vegas hotels.

His salvation came when he went to drive by the school again. Four teenagers stood on the sidewalk by the road. One of the shorter ones, a boy by the looks of it,strangely enough in a black hoodie, gave a small wave to the other three. How he was not suffocating in this humid weather was beyond Percy. A tall blond boy smiled and pulled the boy in black into a hug.

A short girl with black hair smirked at the two boys and shot her hand out, into the boy's hood. A pale hand shot out and smacked it away before sliding them into his hoodie pockets and walking away. He did not seem to be in a big hurry as he crossed the football field and disappeared into the woods on the other side of the school. The blond boy and black haired girl were laughing at something, while a blonde girl stood to the side. She rolled her eyes at something the other two said.

Percy stopped his car beside them and rolled down his window. The black haired girl quieted down and nudged the tall blond, who had his back to Percy. When he turned around, Percy was met by a pair of chilling, icy blue eyes. The blond blinked at him and before glancing at the other two.

"Hey," Percy called out. "I don't suppose any of you could help me find an apartment complex?"

The short raven haired girl blinked and stared at the blonde girl beside her. Leaning in, she whispered something quickly before looking back at Percy. "Us?"

Percy cocked his head to the side, nodding. Why would they think otherwise? He gave them a quick glance over.

The blond boy probably stood around Percy's height, and had a similar lean build to his body. His hair was short and just barely covered his forehead. A mischievous grin sat on his lips, while his right hand rested in his pocket. He was clad in a red and white, striped shirt and white shorts. And the only thing that marred his features was a long, thin scar that ran just under his eye, down to his chin.

The blonde girl stood fairly tall, an inch or two shorter than Percy. She had the build of an athlete and the looks of a princess. Her hair was curled, but pulled back into a ponytail. A yankees cap rested on top of her head, hooding her unnerving grey eyes. Percy shifted in his seat as he stared into them. A silver charm bracelet rested on her wrist, though Percy was nowhere near close enough to get a good look at it.

Finally, there was the raven haired girl. She was the shortest of the group, even counting the boy that had left. She wore black combat boots and ripped shorts. Her grey shirt was torn as well, one of the sleeves hanging off her small shoulder. A dark blue streak that matched her eyes had been dyed in the front of her hair, hanging just beside her left eye. On both of her wrists were spiked bracelets, and a choker was wrapped around her neck.

"He's definitely new," the raven haired girl stated bluntly. She received a smack to the arm from the blonde girl.

The tall boy chuckled. Walking to the car, he placed his arm above Percy's window. He smiled and held his hand out for Percy. "Sorry, don't mind her. I'm Luke, by the way. And my two partners in crime here are Annabeth and Thalia." He turned back to Percy with a quick glance over. "You are new here, though, yeah?"

Percy blinked. Very little southern accent came from the blond's voice. He quickly reached out and shook the tan hand. "Percy. Yeah, I just moved here."

Luke arched a brow, leaning back to peer into the back seat. "I can see that. You're lost?" Percy nodded in response. Luke looked over his shoulder. Thalia and the other girl were whispering to each other. "Hey, you two," the girls shut up at Luke's remark and glared, "you wanna help the new guy out? Maybe we can get you a new friend, Thals."

The girl in the baseball hat tugged Thalia towards the car, just behind Luke. "So, where you from?"

"California."

Luke let out a low whistle. "Long ways from home." A crooked grin appeared on his lips. "Come on, let us be off before the saints discover us walking the streets and toss holy water on us."

The blonde girl rolled her eyes and held her hand out. "I'm Annabeth. Don't mind Luke, he's just obnoxious."

Luke scratched a spot just below his eye before shrugging. "So," he leaned down to rest his arms on the window, "you want us to tag along? We'd be happy to rob-I mean, help you settle in."

"Um," Percy started, eyeing all three of them.

Annabeth sighed. "Luke, don't scare him. I'm sure he'll get enough fear beat into him by tomorrow." Luke laughed at that. Percy failed to get the joke. "Better get used to it, Percy. You're gonna get a lot of that famous southern hospitality around here."

"I guess I could use the help," Percy mumbled with a glance to his backseat.

"Great!" Luke smacked the open window. "You girls wanna sit in my lap?"

"And work?" Thalia's nose crinkled up. "Gross. What fun would that be?" Annabeth's eyes widened as her arm was grabbed. "Come on, Annie, we'll go find something better to do?"

"Don't I get a say in this?" Annabeth asked as she was dragged away.

Luke just chuckled and shook his head. "Don't mind Thalia. All right, one second." He jogged around and got into the passenger seat. Picking up the piece of paper from the seat, he looked it over. "Nice. All right," he pointed forwards, "you're gonna want to take a left at the second stop sign up ahead."

They drove through another strip of the town. Luke seemed to quiet down from his cheerful self, at least when he was not making conversation. It was curious. The blond sank back into his seat when they passed people crossing the street.

Percy kept a fairly constant watch on the blond. Something about him gave off this very troublesome vibe. The robbing comment had also not helped. And just to willingly offer to help a stranger unpack? Was that thing common around here?

Luke looked over to find Percy watching him. "So, what brings you out here?"

Percy let out a sigh. "Court orders from my aunt, the judge." Luke cracked a smile, though it was nowhere near as full as the ones from a moment ago. "I don't know. She wants me to find some long lost relatives, but she didn't come with me."

Luke gave him an odd stare. "Wow. I hope you like motherly figures."

"Why?"

The blond snorted. But even with his amusement, the blond seemed bothered by something. His eyes had become dull and bored. "Because I'm betting you have at least five show up at your door every night." Percy just blinked at him. He was joking, right? "A new kid alone in a southern town, and you expect people not to swoop in on you?" Without even looking away, Luke pointed to an upcoming road. "Take a right."

The town seemed to lessen on this road. There were more trees, less stores, and more houses. "So, what grade are you in?"

"I'll be a senior this year."

Percy perked up. "Oh yeah? That's what I'll be." It was sort of a relief, even if he just met Luke, that he already met someone from his grade.

Luke lightly nodded his head, though his eyes seemed to be off in a world of their own. "That's cool. How old are you?"

"Sixteen." Percy glanced at the blond from the corner of his eye. He was already prepared for the reaction he was going to get.

The blond's eyebrows shot up. "You smart, or something? Damn."

Percy smiled at that. The boy's accent seemed to poke through more when he cursed. "No, not really. Well, I'm average." He shrugged and turned his attention back to the road. "No, I'm an August baby, and my parents decided to put me in school early."

Luke nodded. "I see." It was quiet for a moment, the blond relaxing into his chair. His right hand was grasping the seatbelt. "It'll be up here on the right." The blond's brow furrowed. "Where are your parents?" Percy blinked over at him. "You said your aunt sent you here, so where are your parents?"

"Oh." Percy licked his lips and frowned. "They're, uh, not alive."

"Oh." Luke chewed on his lip. "Sorry, dude," he whispered.

The raven haired boy shook his head. "Not your fault."

As Luke said, the complex sat on the right side of the road. Percy slowed down and turned into the drive. Leaning forward, he watched each of the numbers on the door until he found the one he needed. With a sigh, he parked the car and turned it off.

"Well," Luke clapped him on the shoulder, "home sweet home, I guess."

The apartment was not actually bad, but Percy still caught the meaning of Luke's words. The blond could tell he was not thrilled to be here. But who could really blame him? If he did have family, why had they not come looking for him? Why had he never met them? If this was all so important, Percy felt he should have at least heard of these people before. But his aunt did not even know their names.

By the time Percy got out of the car, Luke already had a box in his hand. He smiled over at Percy. "Where to?"

Percy pointed to the second floor as he opened the door on his side. "13A."

Upon retrieving the first box he could grab from the backseat, Percy looked up at his new home. Some of the bushes in front of his car were beginning to wither. He had a balcony, of sorts, due to living on the second floor. Though, he would have to share it with three other tenants. He had one window in the front, right next to the door.

"You got your key yet?" Luke called down.

"Shit," Percy cursed under his breath. "One second, let me run to the office."

Luke placed his box on the ground and leaned on the railing with a smirk. He pointed down the way they had entered. "First building at the entrance."

The raven haired boy sat down his box and took off jogging down the cracked sidewalk. Blades of grass jutted up from some of the cracks. No one seemed to be leaving their apartments yet, either due to still being asleep or already having left for church.

Percy found the office where Luke had indicated. Pulling the glass door open, he stepped inside. An elderly woman sat in a chair behind the counter. Percy found himself unsurprised when he spotted a pastor on the TV she sat watching. "Um, excuse me."

The woman looked over at him, a slight shake to her. "Can I help you, young man?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'm Percy Jackson, I'm supposed to move into apartment 13A today."

The woman slowly stood up and wobbled over to the desk. Fingering through some papers, she pulled one out. "Here you are, sweetie." The white paper was slid across the desk. "Just sign at the bottom and I can give you your key."

Percy smiled and grabbed pen. He scribbled his name across the line at the bottom before sliding it back across.

"And you're moving in by yourself?" She asked, her voice raising in pitch at the end of the last word." Percy nodded with a small smile. "Oh dear. Well, don't worry, I'll get some of the ladies at church to cook you up some food."

Percy paused. She could not really be serious. "That's...very nice of you, but I'll be fine," he finally replied, flashing a bright smile.

She shook her head, the chained glasses threatening to fall from her face. "I'll have none of that." She held out a silver key. "Now then, here's the key to your new place." She clasped Percy's hand when he went to get it. "And don't hesitate to ask for anything if you need it, y'hear?"

"Yes, ma'am." Percy gave her another smile before leaving the building. He paused there, key in hand. These people were joking about all the hospitality, right? He blinked. Right? He smiled and shook his head. Surely it would not be that bad.

When he got back to his apartment building, he found Luke still leaning on the railing. The blond's eyes were distant, unfocused, as they fingered a necklace that Percy had failed to notice him wearing before. Percy squinted and tried to get a better look at it, but Luke spotted him and slipped it back under his shirt. He flashed a smile down at Percy.

"Get the key?"

Percy held up the key. He quickly grabbed the box he had placed on the ground and bounded up the stairs. He worked to balance the box and attempted to get the key into the door. "So, is there anything fun to do around here?"

Luke used his foot to open the door for Percy. "Depends on who you ask. You, um..." He trailed off, lightly chewing on his lip. "Never mind. Just, um, don't be a stranger."

Percy was not sure what happened while he had been away, but Luke seemed depressed now. Or nervous. He stared into Luke's eyes for a long minute, until the blond smiled and slid into the apartment.

The apartment was far from impressive, but it would do. It was not run down like Percy had been dreading, but it just did not feel like home. The kitchen and living room were conjoined. A sliding door was in the kitchen, partially open to reveal a washer and dryer. Farther back were two doors opposite each other. Sitting his box down, Percy walked towards them.

He reached into the one on the right to reveal his new bathroom. It was rather small, barely fitting in a sink, toilet, and shower. Blowing out a breath, he shut off the light and moved to the other door. Flipping on this light, he found his bedroom. Like the bathroom, it was small. But it would do, he supposed.

"So what are you gonna be sleeping on?" Luke leaned on the door. "I didn't see a bed in your car."

"Air mattress." Percy flipped the light off. "I'll have to find a new mattress and some furniture to go in the place."

"Sucks." The blond shrugged with a smirk. "Just think of it as camping indoors." Percy rolled his eyes. "I'd offer you a place to crash at my house, but my dad's not always fond of having company over."

"It's fine." Percy scratched at his chest, his brows furrowed. "You know any place to eat? I'm probably going to be hungry after this."

Luke chuckled and squeezed his shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll find you something. I'll call Annabeth and Thalia, drag the two of them back over." He seemed to think about something, tapping a finger to his lip. "My brothers are busy today." Luke chuckled again with a shrug. "Probably up to no good, knowing them." Scrunching his lips, he picked up the box he had taken from Percy's car and placed it against a wall in the living room. "Not sure what the others are doing today," he mumbled.

"Others?" Percy watched Luke as he picked his own box up.

The blond chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "Long story. But I'm sure you'll get to hear more about that at school tomorrow." Percy noted that the blond had reached up to squeeze his necklace when he had said that.

The two stepped back outside the apartment and slowly walked down the stairs. Percy noted how quiet everything still was. He let out a sigh. Nothing like home, he thought. "So, you have brothers?"

Luke gave a nod, though he did not spare Percy a look. "Three brothers. Lucky me, I'm the oldest and have to keep all of them in line."

"What about your parents?"

Luke stopped at the bottom steps. Percy stopped as well to turn around and look at him. The blond had slipped his hands into his back pockets and was now staring through a small clearing, where a church could be seen. "My mom's not around anymore either."

"Oh." Percy bit down on his lip as he opened his car. "I'm sorry. I guess we're sort of in the same boat."

Those icy blue eyes of Luke's seemed to chill Percy's blood as they focused back on the raven haired boy. "Yeah," he whispered.

The rest of the boxes were unloaded in near constant silence. Luke merely chose to speak whenever he needed to know where something went. He could understand where Luke was coming from, though. He did not like to have to talk about his parents' death either. Years could pass, and it did not make it much easier to discuss.

It was not until they had gotten all the boxes inside that Luke took notice of Percy watching him. He quirked a brow and a small smile touched at his lips. "Don't worry about me, just needed a minute."

Percy cut open a random box and opened it up. He smiled down at his trophies and medals. He scrunched his lips and looked around his room. He would need some shelves to put them on. He looked up when he noticed Luke just standing there, holding something from another box.

"What?"

Luke turned around, a pair of chopsticks in one hand, a rice cooker in the other. "You like Asian cooking? Can you cook?"

Percy shrugged and Luke looked down at the medals in his hands. "Yeah, sort of. I'm not the best cook, but I can feed myself. And I do better with oriental cooking."

"Oh." The blond blinked down at the pair of chopsticks. Percy snorted as he watched the blond try to work them.

"Do you even know how to use those?"

Blond hair shook loosely as the blond responded that he did not. "Can't really say that I do. As you can imagine, we don't have any Chinese or Japanese restaurants around here."

Percy felt his stomach clench. "Please tell me you at least sell rice or something at stores."

"Well, yeah, I guess. I don't really go looking for the stuff. The twins' mom does all the grocery shopping at the house." Luke scratched at his head and sat the items in his hands on the kitchen counter. "So who taught you to cook and eat with this stuff?"

Percy shrugged, pulling out a fairly large first place trophy. "My aunt."

Percy's eyes darted over to note the perplexed look on the blond face. "Oh." Blond eyebrows began to furrow, and Percy could practically see the wheels turning in Luke's head. He was sure there were going to be more questions soon to follow.

But they never came as Luke opened up another box and pulled out a picture. He cocked his head to the side and turned it around, revealing a brunet boy with light brown, curly hair. His pale face was lightly freckled, and a small birthmark sat right between his eyes. He was rather thin, though the photo truly failed to capture that aspect.

Luke's blue eyes darted up to stare at Percy before returning to the picture. Percy sighed, his shoulders slumping. The brunet had been another reason he had not wanted to move. "That's my ex from back home," Percy said softly.

Luke's eyebrows rose as he gaped at Percy. It did little to make Percy feel better at the moment, to say the least. "Oh, so you're into dudes?"

Percy let out a sigh. "Yeah. You got a problem with it?"

Luke chuckled nervously and held up his hands defensively. "No, man. I'm cool with it. Just...surprised a little." He gestured to the box of trophies and then to Percy. "Just with you looking like...well, you, I didn't really think...never mind."

Percy just shrugged and reached into the box at his feet. When he glanced up, he found Luke with a hint of pink of his cheeks. It looked like the blond was actually trying to keep his mouth shut. He was a bit odd perhaps, Percy thought.

For several minutes, Luke kept himself busy with unloading boxes and made little eye contact with Percy. The blond practically ignored him, though it seemed to be for reasons other than a distaste for the other boy in the room. The raven haired boy frowned and stood back up, poster now in hand. He held it out and looked around the room.

Luke sat some unpacked plates aside. "Is that Michael Phelps?" Percy gave a nod. "You must really like swimming."

"Was the team captain for both our swim and water polo teams last year. Would have been this year, if I didn't have to move." Percy blew out a breath, sending his bangs flying up. He stepped down the hall and placed the poster into his room. "But, looks like life has other plans for me."

"Well," Luke chuckled, "seems you're out of luck here." Crouching down, the blond opened up another box. "There really aren't any pools around here." He looked up with a frown, pointing a knife at Percy. "And I'd recommend not going to the Beauregards' place."

Percy just blinked at him, mouth slightly ajar. "You're kidding, right? Beauregard? Sounds like something out of the Civil War."

Luke shrugged, pulling some clothes out of the box in front of him. "Well, the family did fight in the Civil War." The blond mumbled something else, but Percy failed to catch it.

"You don't call it the 'War of Northern Aggression' down here?" Percy mumbled.

Luke just chuckled. "Well, some people might, but not me. Some of us southern country folk are educated down here," Luke replied, thickening his accent on the last sentence to tease Percy. "But, yeah, don't go there."

The Californian tilted his head to the side. "Why not? They aren't friends with you, or something?"

Luke smirked. "Oh, Silena and I are great friends. I'd be more concerned with the rest of her family." His blue eyes glanced over Percy's body. "Mainly I'd be concerned for your wellbeing."

Percy frowned as Luke went back to unpacking his box. He glanced down at himself. Was there something wrong with the way he looked? A pool was a pool, as far as he was concerned. He needed to swim, or he might lose his mind.

"Huh." Percy frowned and looked over at Luke. The blond poked through several surrounding boxes. "You don't have, like, a bible, or something?"

Percy shook his head. "No. I didn't know it was a requirement for this place." He made a face. "I'm not going to be forced to go to church, am I?"

"That completely depends on you." Luke's blue eyes met Percy's sea-green ones. "I'm sure people will notice if you don't go. And I'm sure all the pretty Southern belles around here will be happy to invite you to their house of worship."

Percy sighed, sitting his laptop bag off to the side. "Do they wear the hoop skirts?"

Luke laughed. "No. Do you believe everything you see about the south in movies and television?"

Percy scratched at his cheek, which were now a light pink. Now he felt like the uneducated one. Well, it was just Luke that he had really met so far. His expectations for the remainder of the town were still not very high. He just had no intention of being dragged to some church.

"You're interesting," Luke suddenly said. Percy blinked and looked down at him. "You don't have a bible, you seem to have a brain, and you're into guys."

Percy rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Is the fact that I like guys that big of a deal?"

Luke shook his head with a grin. "No, just find it interesting, that's all. And you are in good shape. Always a plus, I suppose." Percy frowned when Luke mumbled the last part. Luke grinned up at him. "So, you want me to help set everything up?"

Percy blew out a breath and glanced around. "No, I think I'll do that later. I'll deal with it when the rest comes in." His lips scrunched up. "I'll have to do some shopping. I need food, and I'll need things like shelves."

As if on cue, Luke's stomach growled. The blond chuckled and stood up. "Well, looks like you're not the only one who turned out hungry." He slipped his phone out of his pocket. "I'll call the girls and we can grab some food," blue eyes glanced up at the raven haired boy, "if you want to tag along."

Percy paused before nodding. It still bothered him about the friendliness that he had received already, but perhaps it was just something he had to get used to. Percy's stomach growled as well. "Yeah, food sounds great right now."

"Great." Luke beamed and held his phone up to his ear. "It's almost time for lunch anyways, and most people will be on their way to church." He paused. "Hey, Annabeth. Yeah, we're done." The blond's lips scrunched up. "No, I don't think you should trust her to give you a makeover. Yes, I remember what she did to him. And you know how much he hates pink."

Percy's stomach growled again. He would have to go grocery shopping as soon as he was done with school tomorrow. He would not survive long without nourishment. Luke seemed to notice his stomach again and chuckled.

"Yeah, hey," Luke continued. "So, the new kid and I were going to grab some food while the angry mobs are gonna be at church. You two want to tag along?" Luke beamed and ran his finger along the metal chain around his neck. "Great! We'll see you two in fifteen." Luke hung up and smiled over at Percy. "So, we'll meet up by the school. You want to just walk?"

Percy hesitated, his mouth opening and closing. "Um, we don't need to drive?"

"Aw, city kids." Luke chuckled and opened the door for Percy. The raven haired boy stepped outside and Luke allowed him to lock his apartment door. "No, the place won't be that far to walk. And it'll give Thalia some sun."

Percy chuckled as they walked down the stairs. Luke was turning out to be an okay guy. Perhaps a little odd, but still a nice guy. So Percy was somewhat happy that he had at least made a friend today. It would make tomorrow a bit easier on him.

They found Annabeth and Thalia standing under a large tree. The black choker around Thalia's neck caught the green-eyed boy's attention in the light. A silver coin hung from it, and on it was etched an eagle carrying a lightning bolt. "Are you two girls ready yet?" Thalia asked. Percy looked up to meet her eyes when she looked over at him.

"Been waiting on you two," Luke smirked with his arms crossed.

Thalia grinned and hooped her arm through Luke's. The blond smiled and began walking. Annabeth peered around the two between Percy and herself. "So, did you get all settled in?"

"For the most part." Percy stared down at her. "I have some more stuff coming tomorrow, so I'm just going to wait on organizing everything. Well," he chuckled, "what can constitute as organizing."

The school was left behind them as they walked down the sidewalk. They got a few looks from people along the way from the few people that had apparently not already on their way to church. In a small town like this, he was not surprised he was drawing attention from passing eyes.

Luke's brow furrowed and he slowed down. A crowd had congregated outside one of the churches. The two girls took notice of this and they began to walk more cautiously down the sidewalk. But when a loud sob pierced through the air, all four of them stopped. A woman with tears streaking down her face broke through the crowd. And Percy finally saw what everyone was looking at, though no one was willing to get extremely close to.

Hanging from the cross that sat outside the church was a man, or what was left of one. His face was melted, actually melted, like candle wax. Boils, pustules, and burns covered every inch of exposed flesh on his body. The man's clothes were still smoking and had been burned severely. Percy could see where some of the man's nose was starting to sink lower on his face. His eyes were missing from their sockets, and his mouth hung open. And then the smell of sulfur finally hit his nose.

The crying woman fell backwards as she skidded to a halt. Her eyes were wide as she saw them. "They did this!" She cried out.

The crowd of church goers turned around. Angry looks quickly replaced their distraught ones. "They murdered the pastor!"

Luke, Thalia, and Annabeth took a step back. Luke held an arm out, placing it in front of the two girls. Thalia's eyes were wide in fright, while Annabeth had her lips pursed and her head down. And then the chorus of shouting began.

"Devil worshippers!"

"Satanists!"

"They're evil! They need to be run out of town!"

"Witches!"

Percy just stood there in shock. He was not sure what to concern himself with more. A dead man was crucified on a cross, the town was full of ignorant bigots, and his new friends were being accused of killing a man with witchcraft.

* * *

_So, before I get any complaints about anything offensive about the south in the story, I shall make it known that I do live in the south here in the United States. Although, it doesn't mean I can write southern accents very well, as I'm slowly finding out. Born and raised here, and yet I'm not very southern at heart. And I know that a lot of places in the south, if not most, are not like this town I've created, but I also know that there are people and places around here that do fit the stereotypes. I just find the setting interesting._

_As for Luke, you may notice I've written him differently for this, compared to my other fics. I considered Luke and his personality, taking out the gods from the equations, and felt he would be a friendly person. He seems to care about the other campers, and trying to do what's best for a lot of them. He just wasn't smart with those decisions. And in the first book, he seemed like a nice guy until the end. So I thought it was a nice change of pace._

_Anyways, l hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. You'll see Nico in the second chapter. Well, again, if you saw the obvious in this chapter. So let me know what you guys thought. Don't forget to follow, favorite, and review. I'll see you lovely people next time._


	2. Chapter 2

_Okay, so, here we are with another update. I could have had this up last night, but I was out having a life. It was scary. But, on the note of the chapter, I do have a new beta by the name of Ceraofgyrffindor. Also, while I was out having a life yesterday and seeing the Hobbit, I saw two gay boys in the theatre. And, this might not be a big deal to some people, but I live in the fucking south. People don't usually openly display being a gay couple in the south. At first, I wasn't sure if one was a guy, because it was dark. But, after the movie, I got a better look and found it was a guy. They were adorable. They reminded me of Percy and Nico, both with black hair and one being a head taller than the other. It also helped that the shorter boy was dressed in a lot of black, so I just couldn't help but think of Nico._

_Now for the chapter. You may find some odd sentences when some people are speaking. Some of these things are called southernisms, and I found that I actually have a hard time explaining how they are properly used when I had to clear them up with Cera. It's just the way some people talk in the south, I know my grandmother does it a lot. If you're from the south and still wondering what I mean, I mean the odd sayings that people use to compare things. Like: Drunk as a three eyed spider on a blue tick dog._

_And I do hate stereotypes, but I also know that some stereotypes are earned. But some may have been true at one time, but not so much anymore. And, again, I know that not everyone in the south are like some of the people that I'm portraying, so please don't take offense if you live in the south._

_Warning: Mild language. Slash. That's about it._

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

_Beta'd by Ceraofgyrffindor_

Chapter 2

The alarm by his bed went off, but Percy was already wide awake. His arm rested behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. He had not slept much the previous night. But, as long as he did not fall asleep during his first day at school, he would be good.

He had ended up spending the rest of his day yesterday in his apartment. After the chaos at the church, Luke had dragged them to the nearest diner and paid for everyone's meals. Thalia had been on her phone at the time, which Percy had paid little attention to, at least until the blond in the car showed up. As soon as their food was ready, the girls had gotten into the newly arrived car and sunk down into their seats. Luke did a quick job of apologizing before jumping into the passenger seat, leaving Percy standing outside the diner.

Letting out a sigh, Percy slipped out of bed. He moved the blinds aside, revealing the sliding glass door to his balcony. Slipping on some pajama pants, he stepped outside and rested his arms on the metal railing that surrounded his apartment's balcony. He had a great view, too, if woods were what he wanted to look at. That was definitely something he found no shortage of down here. But the air was definitely cleaner than back home, and it did not feel as humid in the morning.

There was a small field across from his apartment, just beyond the street. And beyond that were more woods. But that was not what caught his attention at the moment. From the trees, five kids emerged. One of them looked to be the blond boy that had picked Luke and the others up yesterday. Why was he not driving his car to school?

Shaking his head, Percy stepped back inside and closed the door to his balcony. He needed to worry about getting to school, not who was walking through the woods. He gathered up some fresh clothes before stepping across the hall to his bathroom.

After a quick shower and some breakfast, which mostly consisted of a granola bar and some orange juice he had picked up at a gas station on the way home yesterday, he headed out the door. Percy opened his car, but stared towards the town. For a second, he debated just walking, but that quickly died and he jumped in his car. Besides, he needed to get some groceries after school.

As he passed in front of the school, he found the buses dropping a lot of students off. A few parents were doing the same with their kids, probably freshmen, who looked embarrassed as their mothers wished them luck on their first day.

Turning the corner, Percy found the student parking. It was not hard to find a spot, though. When he turned his car off, he sat there for a moment, wondering just how small his new school was. The school itself looked to be half the size of his old one, so he could only imagine the difference in the student body.

Getting out of his car, Percy walked towards the building, receiving a few stares along the way. The building he found himself in happened to be the cafeteria, which consisted of a lot of glass windows and a lot of decorations showing off their school mascot, a wolf.

The school consisted of four buildings, sat up in an "X" pattern. There was a flagpole placed in the middle of the courtyard, which was surrounded by several students. Percy raised an eyebrow at them as they held hands around the flag, their heads bowed. Were they praying?

Not paying attention to where he was going, he ended up bumping into someone. A girl with long, black hair drew back with a hiss. "Watch where you're going," she growled.

She was quite pale, with dark eyes. Her nails were painted black and she wore black silk beneath her shirt, which reached down to her hand, her middle finger slid through a hole at the end of it. A small, hooped bangle sat on her wrist, the emblem on it facing the ground.

Percy rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry," he apologized.

The girl sneered at him before shoving by him. Percy turned to watch her walk off. The students quickly parted for her as she passed, like she might burn them if they made any contact with her. Someone needed to get off their high horse, Percy thought. Shaking his head, he headed for, what looked like, the main building.

And as luck would have it, it was. The office was just to the right when he entered. The door thick and took some effort to open. The secretary was a petite woman, sitting behind a small desk and typing away at her computer. Her dark hair was kept up in a bun, which had a pencil sticking through it. Her glasses hung from a thin chain around her neck, which rested against her chest.

Percy cleared his throat to get her attention. The woman seemed startled by Percy's sudden appearance. "Sorry, sorry, I'm just a little overwhelmed at the moment," she apologized as she got up from her chair, nearly tumbling to the floor.

Percy just stared at her with wide eyes and a slightly ajar mouth. "Um, hi, I just transferred. My name's Percy Jackson, and-"

"Ah, yes!" Percy's eyes widened further. The woman shifted over to the counter and began poking through a stack of files in a small tray. "Here we are," she said to herself, pulling a folder from the stack. "Everything seems to be in order. I'll just need you to sign here for me, and we can let your aunt know that you're here."

Percy nodded and picked up a pen from the counter. Signing his name, he slid it back to the woman with a small smile. As the secretary looked over his papers, Percy took a moment to glance around. The office was not anywhere near as big as the one at his last school. The principal's door was slightly ajar, though there did not seem to be any noise coming from within, which left no way of knowing if the principal was even there.

"I assume you have a copy of your schedule?" Percy turned back to the woman, who now had her glasses resting on the bridge of her nose. Percy blinked a few times before nodding. "Good, good. Well, if there's anything I can do for you, don't hesitate to come ask me. My name's Mrs. Hedge, but you can just call me Mrs. Mellie." She moved like the wind as she grabbed a small post-it note and scribbled something down. "Now then, here's your locker number and combination."

"Thank you." Percy smiled as he took the note.

"Oh, Kinzie."

Mrs. Mellie was waving to a girl that was leaving the office. Percy turned to meet a girl with auburn curls. She had a pair of bright, hazel eyes and a smile so sweet looking that it might put honey to shame. Her shorts were cut off just above her knees, while her hair draped down her back.

Mrs. Mellie smiled at her. "This here is our new student, Percy. Would you mind showing him to his locker, and maybe directing him to his first class?"

The girl named Kinzie smiled at the woman before nodding. "'Course, Mrs. Mellie. I'm sure you're loaded down like my nephew in the toy store." The girl was a head shorter than Percy, he noticed as they walked out of the office. "So where're you from?"

"California." Percy found his head bobbing slightly as he answered her.

"Wow, that's quite a ways from home. I can only imagine how different it must be. But I think you'll like our small town here." She smiled and began to twirl her hair around her finger. With her other hand, she plucked the paper from Percy's hand. "All right, it looks like your locker is upstairs."

As they ascended the stairs, the students began to part in front of them. Kinzie came to a quick halt, stepping to the side as a tall Asian girl came walking down, flipping her hair over her shoulder. She was very pretty, like something straight out of a fashion magazine. Her heels made a loud noise with each step that she took, accompanied by the clatter of all of her jewelry. A piece of gum was blown from between her bright pink lips. Her eyes were a dark brown, focused on no one in particular.

Percy made a quick side step as she neared him, since she did not seem like she intended to move. Several students whispered as she walked by. Her eyes flickered over to Percy momentarily and it was like a magnetic force hit him. Their eyes were locked and he found himself having a hard time looking away.

She stuck her nose up and continued on her way. Percy shook his head, his mind now foggy. "Who was that?"

"Oh, uh, that?" Kinzie pursed her lips as they reached the top of the stairs. "That's Drew Tanaka. But don't let that last name fool you, she's one of them Beauregards." The auburn haired girl nodded. She looked like she had tasted something sour, just speaking the girl's name. "Her mother's a harlot."

Did anyone even use that word anymore? Percy found himself looking down the stairs, even though Drew was long gone. He jogged to catch up to Kinzie. "What's so bad about them?"

Kinzie came to a stop. She looked around before leaning in. "She's from one of the families. We don't like them much around here. They're bad people, pray to the devil and everything. The worst are those di Angelos, demons they are." She glanced around again. "You should stay clear of them, if you know what's good for you."

"Um, thanks?"

Kinzie nodded her head towards the row of lockers. "Here's your locker." She cleared her throat, rubbing her arm. "You mind if I have a look at your schedule?"

Percy slid his backpack off his left shoulder and swung it around to his side. "Um, let's see." He chewed on his lip until his fingers found what he was looking for. "Here you go," he said with a smile. He studied the girl as she read it over. He had been raised to be nice, but he had also been raised not to stand for racism and prejudice. The way the town seemed to treat these people did not sit right with Percy. He could only assume that Luke, Annabeth, and Thalia belonged to these 'families' that Kinzie spoke of.

"Aw." Percy blinked, focusing his attention back on Kinzie. "Looks like we don't have any classes together." She bit down on her lip as she handed the schedule back to Percy. "I see you're trying out for the baseball team. I'm sure you'd look mighty handsome in that uniform."

Percy chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Thanks. Um, I don't suppose you could point me towards Mrs. Nakamura's class?"

"Um, sure." Kinzie smiled and pulled Percy into the middle of the hall. Unlike his old school, he found the halls far less crowded. It felt a little odd to him, not having people working to shove past him, now that he was standing in the middle of the hallway. "Just go down this hall, and it will be the last door on the left."

Percy nodded. "Thanks. I'll see you around, I guess."

Kinzie winked at him, walking off down the hall. "Oh you can count on that."

Percy looked down at his schedule again before heading the way Kinzie had pointed him. But, as luck would have it, he ended up encountering another child from one of the families Kinzie had spoken of. This time, it was another girl. Her cinnamon colored hair fell around her shoulders as she reached into her locker to deposit one of the many binders she was carrying in her arms, though the binder never made it.

It ended up getting smacked out of her hands by a laughing jock as he passed, cheerleader girlfriend cackling on his arm. Percy stopped and stared for a second. The other kids around the girl did not even bother to move to help her gather her things. There was some snickering in the hall, but for the most part it was dead silent. Kids held their breaths as they stared down at the girl.

Percy finally moved, stepping over to crouch down beside her. Picking up one of the binders, he held it in front of her face. "Here."

She blinked up at him. Percy found himself taken aback by the color of her eyes. They almost looked like they could be gold. A golden hazel, perhaps? Her skin tone reminded him of a roasted coffee bean, and her eyes just as warm as the coffee it made. Her lips were pressed in a thin line as she accepted the binder from him.

"Thank you." She stood up, looking Percy over. "You're new, aren't you?"

Her accent was...different. That was the best way for Percy to describe it. It was not the deep southern one that Percy had often heard from the people around here, yet it was not lacking like Luke's. Not quite Jamaican, yet there seemed to be a touch of it in there. Cajun, perhaps?

"Yeah, just moved to town," Percy finally answered. He held out his hand. "The name's Percy."

The girl slightly nodded her head. "I think you met my friends Luke, Annabeth, and Thalia."

Percy chuckled. "Yeah. Luke helped me unpack my things."

She finally took Percy's hand. "Hazel. Hazel Levesque."

"Sorry about those guys," the green-eyed boy mumbled.

Hazel shook her head. "It's not a big deal. I've gotten used to it." Percy noticed she had a hard time looking at him while she said this. She brushed some hair behind her ear, which ended up causing Percy to take notice of the ring on her hand.

The girl held the binders tightly to her chest. Around her finger was a ring. The crest was black with a silver skull in it. Above the skull's head sat a crown. It was not the kind of emblem Percy would picture a happy-looking girl like this wearing. The skull was also not the ordinary kind that he would often see printed on alternative types of clothing. It looked very vivid, like something straight out of Dracula's castle.

Hazel seemed to take notice, as she fidgeted with it until the crest was no longer facing towards Percy. "Well, thanks again, I better be heading to class."

"Yeah," Percy nodded, "same."

Percy's brow furrowed as she walked off, though his eyes did not follow her. Perhaps this was one of the reasons the people around here outcasted them like this? As far as he was aware, people in the south were supposed to react as such to things of a gothic nature. But this was not Salem, and it was not the seventeenth century.

Percy stepped into his first class of the day: Calculus. The teacher was busy writing on the dry-erase board behind her desk. The classroom was relatively empty, about ten other students in the room. Percy found himself standing in the middle of the classroom, mouth slightly agape. In his last school, he barely could find a seat, and now he was in a class like this?

The teacher cleared her throat, placing the marker down. She turned to Percy. Her dark hair did not even reach her shoulders, curling all over the place. She was dressed in a deep red blouse and jeans, a white belt around her waist. A black jacket was draped over the back of her chair. Her face was slender, her cheekbones sticking out slightly.

"You must be the school's new arrival." She snapped her fingers at him. "Well, let's see your schedule." The class quieted down as Percy handed over his schedule, all eyes on him. The teacher quickly glanced at it before shoving it back in his direction. "Welcome to Calculus then, Mr. Jackson. I'll be your teacher, Mrs. Nakamura, though some of my more...creative students," she glanced at two of the boys in the class, "have taken to calling me Nemesis."

The two boys paled and sank into their seats. Percy's brow furrowed, his eyes shifting from one side of the room to the other. He found that most of the students congregated to the right side of the room. He was starting to wonder why, until he took notice of a blonde head of hair.

Annabeth sat, head down, in her desk. Her eyes skimmed over the pages of her book. The girl's palm was placed on her cheek. She sat alone, save for a thin boy beside her.

But unlike Annabeth, the boy was watching him, though with the same bored expression that Annabeth was currently giving her book. His eyes were just as stormy and grey as the blonde next to him. His hair, while blond, was a dirtier color that the girl beside him. A leather bracelet was wrapped around his wrist, an ivory owl in the very center of it.

"Well," Mrs. Nakamura waved her hand at the desks, "just take a seat wherever you like."

Percy took a step forward. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed several students trying to motion for him to move towards them. Annabeth seemed to be paying more attention than she let on, as she rolled her eyes.

Percy, choosing to ignore the other kids, moved to sit down behind Annabeth. The teacher raised an eyebrow at him as he sat down, but chose not to say anything. This was stupid, and he was not going to be a part of this stupid way of thinking.

Annabeth turned her head ever so slightly. "Looks like Luke might have been right about you," she whispered.

Percy smiled and focused his attention on Mrs. Nakamura. Leaning back in his seat, he tapped his pencil against his, now open, binder.

* * *

Mrs. Nakamura released them upon the sound of the bell. Percy began packing up, pencil in his mouth. The blond boy turned in his seat to face Annabeth. "So, this is the new kid?"

Annabeth gave a nod. "See? He's not as bad as the other cavemen around here."

The slender boy looked Percy over. Narrowing his eyes cautiously, he held out his hand for Percy. "Malcolm."

He nodded. "Percy."

Annabeth grabbed her backpack and stood up. "Malcolm's my cousin. Don't mind him, we just don't see many people willing to talk to us."

"'Cause you're freaks," someone called as they walked out the door.

Annabeth pressed her lips together, nodding her head. "And now you see why we didn't know what would happen when you started today. We don't have many new kids around here, but when we do, they usually end up believing the stupid tales that the rest of the town tells them." The blonde rolled her eyes. "So we just try and stick together."

Percy nodded his head. "Yeah, I think I might have run into some of your group." He tossed his thumb over the shoulder. "There was one that was kind of scary."

Annabeth smirked. "I'm pretty sure you ran into Medea di Angelo. Don't worry, her siblings aren't so bad."

Malcolm snorted. "Well-"

The girl shot him a look. "Don't listen to him." She returned her piercing grey gaze to Percy. "Bianca's pretty friendly, but her brother can be a little defensive at times." She smiled as she walked with the other two to the door. "So, sorry about having to leave like that yesterday."

Percy shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I'm pretty sure I'd freak out too, if I thought the town was wanting to lynch me." He blinked a few times. "You guys don't still do that around here, do you?"

Malcolm chuckled, shaking his head. "Well, there are still a few trees standing that used to be used for it." He raised a brow. "This might be the south, but this is 2013-yes, the trees still get used."

Percy's eyes widened. Annabeth palmed her face. "He's joking," she licked her lips, "sort of."

"Sort of?" Percy leaned against the wall, next to the door they had just exited. "What do you mean by that?"

"It's extremely rare, but it has happened while I've been alive." Annabeth popped her lips, shifting her weight. "Well, this is uncomfortable now."

"What's uncomfortable?" Luke appeared behind Annabeth, hands on the straps of his backpack. He smiled. "Hey, Percy. Still hanging around us, I see."

Percy eyed Annabeth briefly before looking at Luke. "Yeah. You guys still lynch around here?"

Luke glanced between Annabeth and Malcolm, blowing out a breath. "We can talk about that another time, yeah? Maybe in a more quiet place."

Annabeth turned her head to look at the tall blond. "What are you doing?"

The blond just shrugged. "Just checking on you. I just dropped Nico off at his locker with Jason."

Annabeth sighed. "You left them alone?" She shook her head. "Why?"

"They get along just fine, most of the time." Luke rubbed the back of his neck. "Jason just wanted to discuss some things for next month with him." He threw on a smile for the glaring girl in front of him. "Trust, Bethie."

"Don't call me that." She sighed and touched Percy's shoulder. "Nice seeing you again, Percy. I'll see you tomorrow, I guess, if I don't see you before then." Malcolm nodded at him as he followed his cousin down the hall.

Luke gave Percy a two fingered salute as he walked backwards after them. "Catch you later, man. Don't be a stranger. We don't bite...much." He received a punch from Annabeth. He chuckled and turned around, tossing Percy a wave over his shoulder.

Percy turned around, only to be greeted by three teenagers. Two were obviously cheerleaders, their uniforms on full display. The other appeared to play football, wearing a jersey over a white T-shirt. The guy was around Percy's height, with more muscle on him. But it was the girls who stepped forward.

"So we saw that you were talking with the Chases and the Castellan boy," the first girl said. Her skin was a deep ebony color. The way she smiled at Percy did not sit right with him. Her curly hair bounced as she shifted her weight. "Since you're new, we'll help you out."

"You should stay away from them," chimed the second girl. Her eyes, while concerned, reminded Percy of ice, both in color and feel. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail. "My momma says their whole families are satanists."

The first girl nodded, her face trying to reflect concern. She reached out to touch Percy's arm. "We're just trying to look out for you, since you don't know. "Who knows what they might do to you, if you were go off with them somewhere, alone."

The guy behind them finally nodded. "Witches, all of them. When that Grace boy tried out for the team and was denied, our entire team came down with the flu." He leaned in closer. "They make things happen."

The first girl rolled her eyes, shoving the guy back. "I'm Kelli, by the way. And this," she motioned to the girl beside her, "is Tammi. And the guy back there is Dylan."

Percy eyed all of them with his mouth open. "Um," he blinked a few times, "thanks?" Kelli smiled at him. "I'll, um, keep an eye out." He nodded before walking around them.

His next class was not hard to find. Since it was Home Economics, all he really had to do was follow his nose to the smell of cooking. The room was warm and smelled delicious. It reminded him of when he would come home from school and his mom would be making cookies.

"Welcome to Home Economics!" Percy nearly stumbled back as a platter of crescent rolls were shoved in his face. "Have a taste!"

Percy blinked down at the tray, slowly reaching out to pick up one of the offered rolls. He then nodded at, who he assumed was, his teacher. She was a middle-aged woman, her hair curled into a short perm. A bright green apron was tied around her waist. She watched Percy expectantly.

"Well?" Percy slowly raised it to his lips, where he let out a moan. The woman beamed. "Excellent!" She sat down the platter and dusted her hands off. "I don't think I've seen you around town before, so you must be the new student. Perseus, was it?"

"Uh, just Percy."

The woman rapidly nodded her head. "Good, good. I'll be your teacher for this period. You can just call me Ms. Stheno." She turned and spread her arms out. A few students already there looked up. "Welcome to my dungeon-I mean cooking class."

Percy eyed her strangely as she laughed crazily. This class would be interesting at least, he supposed. Walking past her, Percy dropped his backpack beside the only empty station in the classroom. Several eyes watched him. The girl next to him had wide eyes. Percy just arched a brow at her as he sat down. Ms. Stheno looked at her watch.

Percy reached into his backpack for a pencil. The bell rang while he was digging through it. "Ah, there you are, Mr. di Angelo," Ms Stheno said, though Percy was still busy with his backpack. "It looks like you'll have a station partner this year after all." Percy pulled a pencil and his binder out of his bag, depositing it onto the counter in front of him. He looked up and froze.

It was the boy in black from yesterday. He was still in the jacket, his hands in his pockets. His backpack-not surprisingly at all, black-hung from his left shoulder. His jeans were dark and his shoes were slightly tattered and scuffed. The boy's lips were a pale shade of pink, matching the pale color of the boy's skin. Dark circles had formed under the boy's dark brown eyes, which was partially covered by black hair.

The room was as quiet as a graveyard as the boy moved to sit down next to Percy, not even sparing the green-eyed boy a glance. The smell of peppermint hit Percy's nose as soon as the boy was seated. He began drumming his fingers on the table, slumping in his chair. There, on the boy's finger, was a similar ring to the one Hazel had been wearing. The band was pure silver, shined to perfection. And on top of it sat the exact emblem that had been on the one Hazel wore.

When Percy faced the front of the class again, he found Ms. Stheno frantically searching her desk. "Oh my, it seems I've left the syllabus down in the office." She held her hands up in front of her. "I'll be right back, everyone behave yourselves."

It was not long after she had left that the girl that was beside Percy stood up from her station. She marched to the front of where the boy in black sat and placed her hands on the surface. She was a very pretty girl, with a stern looking face. Her long, black hair fell around her face while she was hunched over.

"Everyone else may be afraid of you, but I'm not going to be intimidated like they are. You and the rest of your families are an abomination against the Lord. And I pray, every night, that you don't go straight to hell for your wickedness."

The boy continued to drum his fingers as he stared at the girl with a dull, and slightly annoyed, expression. The room was silent, everyone watching the girl and boy stare off with each other. But, in the end, it was the girl who cracked first. She swallowed a small lump in her throat as she continued to stare with his disconcertingly bored expression.

"At least I'll be rid of you and the rest of this town," the boy said quietly. His voice was soft and calm, and completely without a hint of a southern accent. The girl shifted, moving back from the table. It seemed odd to Percy, watching this girl become uncomfortable with this boy that was not even doing anything.

"I hope you burn!" She shrieked, jerking away. "I know it was one of your wretched family members!"

The boy did not respond to her accusation. His eyes dulled and became unfocused as he looked down. But the girl did not budge from her spot. Seeing this, the boy let out a sigh and shook his head. "I'm sorry, Khione, I don't know what you're talking about."

Khione pursed her lips, glaring at the boy. She huffed before storming back to her seat. Percy glanced at the boy from the corner of his eye. With a quick turn of the head, the black haired boy next to him glared at Percy.

"Uh," Percy fumbled. His mouth opened and closed a few times, trying to find some words. "I'm Percy. You're friends with Luke, right?"

"Nico," the boy mumbled, looking down at the table in front of him.

"I'm the new kid." Nico did not respond. "He, um, helped me out yesterday. Luke that is."

Nico gave a small nod. "Good for you."

Percy swallowed. This was going well, he thought. He found himself staring at the boy next to him. Nico was attractive, Percy could definitely say that. The boy was slender and around average height, maybe being able to come up a little above Percy's chin. And now, looking closer, Percy could see a hint of sadness in the boy's dark eyes.

"So, I think I saw you yesterday. We could've, um, met already." Percy cringed a little. He sounded like an idiot. Nico spared him a dull, brief glance from the corner of his eye. He was not sure why he felt compelled to talk to the boy. "So, um, since we'll be partners-"

"Look," Nico turned to face Percy, "we might be stuck together for the rest of the year, but that doesn't mean you have to talk to me. I don't know you and you don't know me, so let's keep it that way. I'm not Luke, I don't care about making new friends." He arched a brow at Percy. "So just do your part of the work and we'll get along great."

Percy frowned and faced towards the front of the room. Well that was just rude. How did Luke get along with this kid?

Nico let out a breath and turned his attention towards the front of the room just as the teacher returned. "Here we are!" She announced, waving a stack of papers around. She dropped two on each table, slowly making her way around the classroom.

Percy and Nico ended up reaching out at the same time, but Nico drew back his hand as soon as he noticed Percy moving. Nico's dark eyes roamed over to Percy with a venomous look. Percy just arched a brow as he picked up a copy of the syllabus for himself, pushing the other towards the brown-eyed boy.

Through the remainder of the class, Percy found himself stealing glances at the boy next to him. The boy's frame was so small; Percy was probably capable of easily tossing Nico over his shoulder. And his skin was so pale, like death itself. The black coloring of Nico's hair only made the boy's face stick out more, like porcelain. He fiddled with his ring a lot, or so Percy noticed. Absentmindedly, it seemed. Using his other hand, Nico would often chew on his thumb nail.

But he kept his attention on the teacher the entire time. Percy could imagine that it was not easy for any of the children from these families to come to a school like this, where they were persecuted on a daily basis.

Every now and then, Nico's eyes would begin to droop. Perhaps those dark circles under his eyes really were from exhaustion. It was kind of sad, watching the thin boy do everything he could to stay awake.

When the bell rang, most kids shot to their feet. But Nico remained in his seat, with little intent on moving. Percy eyed him as he packed his things up. When Nico nearly fell out of his chair, Percy reached forward, but Nico smacked his hand away. "I'm fine," Nico mumbled.

"You don't look fine." Percy zipped his bag. "Do you want me to help you to the nurse's office?"

Nico grabbed his bag and slid it onto his shoulder. "I said I'm fine. I don't need your help." Barely getting that out of his mouth, the slender boy nearly tripped over a chair. "Fuck," he hissed.

"Mr. di Angelo," Ms. Stheno warned, shooting him a look.

Nico rolled his eyes. He turned back to Percy, giving the green-eyed boy an odd look. Percy stood up and walked after him the second Nico began heading for the door. In the doorway, Nico stopped, pressing a hand to Percy's chest.

"I really don't need a knight in shining armor, or whatever you're trying to be. I don't know what game you're trying to play, but I really just prefer to be on my own." Nico clicked his tongue. "So just back off and we can get along great."

"But I thought you liked our time together?" Nico let out a sigh as Luke's arm was slipped around his shoulders. Nico glared up at the tall blond. Said blond grinned at Percy. "So I see you've met Nico, our resident shut in." Nico elbowed Luke, making the blond grab his stomach. "You're so abusive to me."

Nico grunted as he walked off. "I thought you liked it rough?"

Luke smiled at Percy. "Your day going well?" He nodded towards the retreating form of Nico. "Hope he didn't bother you too much. He's..an acquired taste."

"I heard that, asshole!"

Luke cringed. "Well," he smirked and tossed Percy a wave, "I'll catch you later, man. Feel free to sit with us at lunch, if you find yourself lonely."

"Or if you want your reputation killed," another blond boy mumbled as he walked past. Percy turned, finding the blond that had picked Luke and the others up yesterday. He nodded towards Luke. "Did I see Nico walk that way?"

Luke nodded. "Yeah, I need to catch him."

The blond nodded. A small scar rested on the blue-eyed boy's lip, barely noticeable, unless someone looked up close. "Might be a good idea, considering who I just bumped into."

"Shit," Luke cursed under his breath. He turned to Percy again. "I'll see you later," the blond said quickly.

As Percy stood in the hallway, Luke jogged off down the hall with the other blond in tow. As they caught up to Nico, Luke slung his arm around the dark haired boy's shoulders. Nico turned to glare up at Luke, while the other blond was busy talking and motioning with his hands.

Percy blew out a breath as the three finally disappeared into the crowd, no longer visible. At the very least, his first day at school was not really what he had been expecting. He had been expecting to be bored out of his mind, but the prejudice, while bad, and these families were already an impact on his time here.

Nodding to himself, he pulled out his schedule again and journeyed down the hall. His day was far from over, and he could only imagine what else might happen today.

* * *

When Percy finished getting through the lunch line, he found himself staring around the cafeteria. When he noticed movement, he turned his head to find Kinzie waving him over. Shrugging, he walked over to the girl's table. Sitting down, he found himself between the smiling girl and a tall and slender blond boy.

The blond turned to look at him as he sat down. He had a pair of bright blue eyes and pale skin. His hair reached to his eyebrows, looking neatly styled. His clothes were clean and nice, and an expensive phone sat beside his tray. His stare bothered Percy the most. It felt judgmental, like he was doing his best to find everything wrong with Percy.

Apparently he passed the blond's test, as the boy just shrugged and went back to his food. Percy blinked and turned to Kinzie. "Hi," he said with a smile.

Kinzie smiled back at him. "Hello again. Having a nice day?" Percy shrugged. Kinzie pursed her lips as she poked at her corn. "So, word is you've been seen around some of those kids."

Percy blinked. "They're really no good," the blond kid mumbled on Percy's other side.

Percy turned to glance at him. Kinzie nodded. "Octavian's right, they are trouble. You'd do well to avoid them."

The boy called Octavian nodded towards Percy. "You're the new kid, then?" Percy slightly nodded. "Well, just looking out for you here, but if you continue hanging around that bunch, you might end up having your throat cut in some ungodly sacrifice."

A girl across the table nodded. "I hear they dance around fires, out in the woods." This girl had dark brown hair hanging down to her lower back. Her dark eyes looked annoyed as she chewed her food. She bore a very athletic build, displayed freely by her tank top. "We're pretty sure they had something to do with the pastor's murder."

Percy fought the urge to roll his eyes. "And where's the proof in that?"

The girl across from him narrowed her eyes. "Strange things are said to have happened when their families moved here."

"And when was that?"

Kinzie sipped on her drink, watching Percy and the girl. "Well, it's been a few hundred years, but my granny can recall a lot of weird things." Her eyes widened as she sat her drink down. "Oh, like that car accident Grover's mom was in all those years ago."

Another girl at the table nodded. Percy was going to guess she was related to the other girl that sat beside her. They had similar features: the same dark hair, dark eyes, same skin tone, and even the same nose. The differences came in small places. This girl's hair was more glossy and bore a single braid. Her face was not as stern-looking as the girl next to her, nor did she appear to be as tall.

"There's also the disappearances, like Khione's dad." The girl with the braid shrugged. "Strange things just happen around here."

Kinzie made a noise in the back of her throat. "Goodness, how silly of me. I've completely forgotten that you don't know everyone at the table." She motioned to the two girls. "This is Hylla and her sister, Reyna."

Percy nodded at them. "Percy. I just moved here from California."

Percy let himself fade out of the conversation for a while. He stared down at his food, quietly poking his meatloaf with his fork. The lunchroom quieted down around him. And when he looked up, he found several kids moving to sit at an empty table. Amongst them were Luke and Nico, as well as the blond kid from earlier.

A girl of average height took the seat beside Nico, though the boy was busy talking with Luke on the other side. Like Nico, she bore the same dark brown eyes, though did not look anywhere near as exhausted. Her silky black hair flowed down from under a floppy green hat that rested on top of her head. Her skin was a darker olive color than that of the boy next to her, but they still looked quite similar. She looked healthier, and the authoritative air surrounding her made her stand out.

Percy was going to assume this girl was Nico's sister, Bianca, that Annabeth had mentioned earlier. She nudged Nico, drawing the boy's attention. Bianca simply nodded at his tray, whispering something to the boy. Nico's brow furrowed as he quietly replied, now looking even more tired than he had earlier. Whatever he had said managed drawing Luke in on it, as the blond ended up putting some of his fries on Nico's tray. Nico let out a breath, slumping in his seat.

Percy quickly looked away when Nico's eyes shot up to look at him. He could feel the color rising in his cheeks as he stared down at his food. Kinzie nudged him with a raised eyebrow. When Percy looked up, she followed his gaze.

Kinzie pursed her lips, shaking her head. "That one's severe trouble. That's Nico di Angelo."

Percy chewed on a fry. "We have Home Ec together."

Reyna turned her head slightly to look at the dark haired boy behind her. "He's very weird." She glanced around her table before leaning in to look at Percy. "I've seen him talking to himself a lot, like carrying on conversations with thin air." She nodded her head. "He's demented, or something."

Hylla nodded her agreement. "And he's always so quiet. Creepy kid." Percy stared at her as she made a face, like she tasted something foul. "And he's homosexual."

Percy blinked. "What?"

Kinzie nodded. "He is. I mean, look at that." She nodded towards Nico. Percy glanced over. Luke was leaning in, whispering something to the boy. Nico rolled his eyes at the blond. Luke smiled and pulled Nico in, allowing Nico to rest his head on the blond's shoulder and putting his arm around the slender boy. "They're together, it's obvious. He's just damned to hell."

Percy frowned to himself. He doubted he would make many friends if he broadcasted his sexuality to everyone. Not that he was sure it would really matter. Even back home, it was not something he broadcasted. He never hid it, but he had never felt the need to hold a sign up and yell it to the world either. If he was happy, he figured that should have been all that mattered.

Offering a small smile, Percy stood up. "I'll see you guys later, I'm not really hungry anymore." Kinzie stared at him like she wanted say something, but let him go. He missed home, but he doubted his aunt was going to let him just come back, especially so soon.

The rest of Percy's day passed by within the blink of an eye. His last period had been tryouts for baseball. He was hoping he would make the team, just so he could have some sport to participate in for the year. Not to mention he would have to rework his schedule if he did not make it.

He now sat in his car, letting the cold air of his air conditioning blast him in the face. While his day had gone by fast, it had also been exhausting. It seemed like in every one of his classes, he had at least one kid from those isolated families. He felt sorry for them. They were just misunderstood, surely, and the people of the town were just being bigots.

He finally sighed and pulled out of the parking lot, leaving the school behind him. His stomach growled along the way, but he needed to get to his apartment first. His things should be arriving shortly, and he needed to be there to get them.

And he was correct. As soon as he pulled into his apartment complex, he found a UPS truck sitting outside of his place. He hurried and parked, spotting the driver at his door. He jumped out and waved up to the man. "Hey, I think you're looking for me."

Fifteen minutes later, Percy stood in his living room, several boxes at his feet. He groaned and glanced around. Percy would need to get some furniture, and soon. Scrunching his lips, he looked at the boxes again. He was tempted to just unpack all of it, but then his stomach reminded him of more important things and he was out the door and heading for his car.

The drive through town was relatively quiet. Percy kept his windows down and radio off. It was very quiet, a huge change from his old life. He could easily hear conversations that were going on as he drove by. The birds chirped happily in the trees, the sun still hanging on the horizon.

It was very odd, being in a place like this. There was so much open space. He was beginning to see why they did not build their buildings so tall, there was just no need. Around his apartments were fields and woods. The town could easily space itself out, giving everyone in it their room.

He glanced at his phone, which was sitting in his lap. Part of him wondered if he should have gotten some numbers while at school today. It was going to get very boring and lonely at his apartment, so it might be a good idea to have a way of contacting people.

After driving by a small park and an abandoned looking railroad, Percy stumbled upon the grocery store. It was not very big, and did not even have that many people parked outside. There were not even any shopping carts sitting outside, waiting to be put back. Percy's brow furrowed as he stepped out of his car. As he walked towards the door, he observed an elderly man finishing up unloading his shopping cart.

After finished, the man slowly pushed the shopping cart back into the store as Percy entered, where he placed it back with the other ones. Percy slowly pulled one of the other ones out, standing there in confusion for a second. People actually took the time to return shopping carts back to their original spots here?

Shaking his head, Percy pushed forward. He moved around the store, picking out a few simple things: bread, milk, cereal, hot dogs, cheese, etc. But when it came to picking out actual ingredients to make a meal, Percy found himself scratching his head as he browsed the shelves. His aunt had done all of the cooking back home, leaving him to fend for himself over snacks or things like lunch.

He lifted a pound of ground beef from the cold rack, holding it in both of his hands. He blinked at it a few times, looking into his cart to see what he might could use it for. Was he even ready to cook anything? With his luck, he would burn down his apartment. There was a reason his aunt had kept him out of the kitchen, not to mention signed him up for home economics.

"Oh dear, you look lost, sweetheart."

Percy turned his head to find a motherly looking woman staring at him with a pair of bright brown eyes. Her black hair had been tied back in a large bun, while the rest of her hair looked a little frazzled. She wore a wheat colored dress, which was accompanied by a thin fleece jacket resting on her shoulders. A golden sun necklace with an odd symbol hung around her neck. Percy furrowed his brow, trying to get a better look at it, but the woman adjusted her jacket to hide it.

"Um, what?" Percy blinked.

"You must be the new boy in town." The woman, who had been standing in front of some fruit, quickly bagged some bananas. "I don't believe I've seen you before, so I would only assume."

Percy blinked at how fast the woman talked. Her voice reminded Percy of an old school nanny, very punctual and articulate. She also seemed to drag out some of her words at the end of her sentences. "Uh, yeah, that would be me. Percy Jackson, and I just moved here from California."

She shook his hand with the one that was not currently holding a bag of bananas. "My, you are the tall one." She squeezed his hand tightly. "And such a firm grip." She held his arm out, surprising Percy. "You do look the image of healthiness, but I'm told that you're alone here."

Percy was a little freaked out. Was he going to have to watch if he was being followed home from now on? "Sort of, yeah." He slowly pulled his hand back, rubbing it against the back of his neck.

"Oh goodness, where are my manners?" She said as she held her face. "My name is Demeter." Percy smiled awkwardly at her. "You just look a little lost in here, that's all."

Percy eyed the beef rack again. "Um, yeah, you could sort of say that."

"Well," Demeter clapped her hands together, "we'll solve that." She held up a finger in front of her face, slightly pointing it out at Percy. "You're always welcome to come to my place for a meal, or maybe I can whip something up and bring over to your place."

Percy, standing there with wide eyes, could not find any words to respond with. He was definitely going to make sure his doors were locked from now on. "That's really unnecessary."

She simply waved him off. "I'll have none of that, young man. A growing boy needs to eat properly, and I will most certainly not be one to sit by and let a poor child starve. Not on my watch."

"You-" But she was already pushing her cart off. Percy groaned and hung his head. "You really don't need to do that," Percy mumbled to himself, letting out a sigh. Blowing out a breath, Percy picked up the pound of ground beef he had been holding earlier and deposited it into his cart.

After he finished with his shopping, Percy found himself behind another motherly looking woman, similarly dressed to Demeter. Though, this woman looked much more stern than Demeter had, and quite a few more wrinkles on her face. A wide brimmed, weaved hat rested on top of her head as she handed the cashier her money.

The young woman behind the register smiled and handed back the woman's change. "Thank you, Mrs. Dodds. Come back and see us soon, and I hope you have a nice day."

The woman that had been called Mrs. Dodds pocketed her money with a weak smile. "Thank you, sweetie. God bless." She glanced behind her before moving to push her buggy, but ended up doing a double take. She now stood, staring, at Percy as he placed his items on the checkout conveyer belt. "I don't believe I've seen you in town before."

"Um, no, I just moved here." Percy continued to pick up his items from the shopping cart. "It seems like people have been noticing that a lot since I got here."

The woman touched the back of her hair below her hat. "Well, I do happen to know all the town's residents, and I know I've never seen you around before." She glanced him over. "You got a church yet?"

"Uh, no." Percy shook his head. "I'm just settling in." For some reason, he was getting the impression that it was not the best idea to mention to this woman that he had no intention of attending any church in the area. He had never been to one, and he never really planned on breaking that trend.

The woman eyed him with a narrowed gaze. "Well, if you ever find yourself in the need of a church home, you can come to Aimes Baptist Church. It's in the center of town, can't miss it."

Percy nodded. The woman walked away, her heals clacking on the floor, leaving Percy with a feeling of relief. He pulled out the debit card his aunt had given him and swiped it, while his groceries were bagged for him. Grabbing his receipt, he placed all of his bags back into his cart and headed for the exit.

He worked on unloading his cart absentmindedly. It was not until he heard a jar break that he actually paid attention to his surroundings. He glanced around until he found the source. Demeter was crouched down beside her car, picking up some of her groceries that must have broken through the bag. A jar of olives had been the source of the noise.

Mrs. Dodds stood nearby, watching the entire thing, but all she seemed to be willing to do was stick her nose up. "A little reminder from our Lord that you walk in darkness, Mrs. Gardner."

Demeter pursed her lips and worked on picking up the broken shards by her feet. Percy frowned and shut his car door. And, without thinking, began moving towards the scene. Demeter froze when he crouched down in front of her. Mrs. Dodds placed her hand on her chest at witnessing this.

Percy silently picked up each piece of glass and placed the shards in one hand. With his other hand, he helped the woman stand to her feet. "You all right there?"

Demeter cleared her throat before nodding. "Yes, yes. Thank you, Perseus." She smiled weakly at him before opening the driver side door. "I think I'll bake you a batch of cookies."

Percy smiled back at her. "That's really not necessary, but thank you." He nodded at her as she slipped into the driver seat and closed the door. Letting out a sigh, he walked to the side of the store and dumped the glass shards in the garbage.

When he got back to his car, he found Mrs. Dodds waiting on him. "It seems we've acquired ourselves a gentlemen."

Percy stared back at her, blank faced and hands in his pockets. "Just the way I was raised, to be polite." His brow furrowed. "And it looked like she needed some help, and I didn't see anyone going to give her any."

Mrs. Dodds cleared her throat and adjusted her blouse. "Percy, was it?" The green-eyed boy nodded. "You see, we have some...not very nice people in this town. And, well, it's just that Mrs. Gardner is one of those people." Her hands laced together in front of her. "We've tried getting them to change, really we have, but they are so corrupt with their wickedness."

Percy nodded his head, lips tightly pursed. He rested his hand on the top of his car. "Well, I met some of those kids at school today, and they just seemed like they were being bullied. And that doesn't really seem right to me, or the Christian thing to do."

That seemed to offend the woman. She stepped back as he opened his car, placing her hand on her chest with her mouth agape. "Don't let them turn you from the path of the Lord, child." She took a second to eye his car while he climbed into it. "Why are you grocery shopping anyways? Where's your mother?"

"Dead." Percy did not wait for a response. Instead, he shut his door and cranked the car. Mrs. Dodds jumped back as he pulled out of his parking spot. This town, while full of seemingly nice people, was also full of racists, bigots, and insufferable people.

All the way home, Percy could not get the day's events off his mind. Even as he unloaded all of his groceries, all he could do was replay the events from the day. But during that time, Percy came to one decision. He had made up his mind on this, and his fate was going to be sealed for this town.

Those kids deserved someone different, someone who would not shun them.

* * *

_There's the second chapter. And we finally meet Nico. I told you, he'd be something like Luke from Children. Just give him a chance, and I'm sure he'll grow on you. I hope you guys liked the chapter. What was your favorite part? Who was your favorite character introduced? I'm sure I'm going to get a lot of Nico, just because Nico is always lovable. What are some questions that you picked out of the chapter? But, yeah, let me know what you guys think, I'd love to hear it. And I hope you're enjoying the story so far._


	3. Chapter 3

_As a warning, I am extremely tired, so please endure this A/N with me. The sun has been up for a while now, but I wanted to fix the mistakes that Cera pointed out for me, so that I could post it. Just a heads up on what is going on with me. First, it's going to be a few days before I update Children. I'm trying to figure out the best way to censor the sexual act that occurs in that chapter. That is not enjoyable for me, and I'm trying to figure out the best way to rewrite it, while still getting it across as to what is happening._

_Second, it may be a little bit before I update this again. I'm not tired or lost, it's just that I need to give some attention to Shadows and try to finish out Genesis as fast as possible. Once Genesis is finished, I can put more focus on this. I'm also trying to spare some time on character development for my original fic that I want to write, as well as the ones for the book series I want to write. And then there's the fic I want to have almost complete by the time Children gets finished. I haven't had much time to work on that. So I'm just trying to space things out and take time to write for each of these things, trying to end some so that I can have more time. Shadows is a little past it's halfway mark, so it shouldn't be much longer either. On a final note, I can't spell when I'm delusional. I had to retype so much while writing these two paragraphs._

_Warning: religious bashing? Language. That's all that I can think of this early in the morning._

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

Chapter 3

Typically, when a container filled with cookies gets dropped in front of him first thing in the morning, Percy would not think twice about it being anything other than a good sign. However, when he glanced up from the table he sat in the cafeteria to find Nico looking down at him with an emotionless stare, he had to reconsider things.

Percy's green eyes blinked as he glanced between the skinny boy and the fresh cookies. "Um, thank you?" He tilted his head to the side, peeling back the lid.

Luke, who stood behind Nico, chuckled and elbowed Nico in the back. Nico huffed and rolled his eyes. "I was told to give those to you," the brown-eyed boy mumbled.

Percy's brow furrowed as he stared at Nico in confusion. Luke wrapped an arm around Nico and pulled the boy against his chest. "Nico's grandmother is Demeter."

"Step-grandmother," Nico mumbled, crossing his arms and looking away.

Luke shrugged. "Either way, she wouldn't let Nico leave until he promised to hand those to you." He smirked. "And made him promise to be polite."

Percy noticed Nico's eye twitch. Luke made a small squeaking noise before pursing his lip. Percy arched a brow, shifting his gaze. Nico had sunk his nails into the arm Luke had put around him. The green-eyed boy quickly looked down and opened the container, pulling out a cookie and stuffing it into his mouth.

As soon as the cookie hit his mouth, his taste buds exploded. "Oh wow, these are delicious." He chewed it more in his mouth. "These are really good."

Luke smiled at him. "Demeter does a lot of cooking for our families, especially for when we all get together." The blond threaded his fingers into Nico's hair, pushing the boy's head slightly to the side. Nico rolled his eyes, but did not seem all that bothered by the action. Was it just Percy, or did Nico seem a lot less irritable when Luke was around?

Percy nodded, still chewing on his cookie. "So, you guys have known each other for a long time?"

Nico did not seem amused, but Luke was not about to let him say anything to ruin the conversation. As soon as the pale boy opened his mouth, the blond slapped a hand over it. "Our whole lives. Nico and I were practically raised together." He tilted Nico's head back to smile down at the boy, who crossed his arms and glared. "I guess that's why we're so close."

Nico jerked away from Luke. "This is pointless," he hissed. "He isn't any different."

"And I said he was." Luke sighed as Nico walked off, joining Thalia at a nearby table. The blond shook his head as he stared at the boy. "Sorry about him. I've tried talking to him, but all the people around here have left a bit of damage on him." Luke pulled out a chair across from Percy and sat down. "I told him you aren't one of those Bible carrying bigots, but he's not really convinced."

Percy nodded, pushing the cookie container to the side. "That's okay, I guess I can't blame him. Still, if it's all right with you guys, I wouldn't mind hanging sometime, or something." The raven-haired boy rubbed the back of his neck. "It kind of gets boring when I'm just sitting at my apartment all day."

"Um, yeah." Luke chuckled and nodded. "Yeah! We can definitely hang out sometime." He drummed his hands once before leaning back in his chair. "Wow, I never thought I'd get an offer to spend time with someone outside the-err, outside of our families." The blond pulled out a small piece of paper that looked like a receipt and scribbled something down. "There's my number, call my anytime you want."

Percy slid the paper over to himself and glanced at the number on it before nodding. "Thanks. I, um, hope I can convince the rest of you that I'm not a bigot." The boy chuckled. "Hell, I'm not even a Christian. But, yeah, I think this town is being dumb." Luke stood up and smirked. Percy slipped the paper into his pocket as the bell rang. "I guess I'll see you later."

There was a gleam in Luke's eye as he slipped his hands into his pockets. "Oh, you definitely will."

As the students made their way to exit the cafeteria, Luke disappeared into the crowd. Percy stared down at the cookies Demeter had made for him. If he was to get in with these kids, he figured Luke was the best place to start. Something about Luke made him feel like he was sort of a leader figure.

Letting out a sigh, Percy stood and gathered his backpack and the container. Falling into the crowd, Percy made his way towards the main building. Once inside, he stopped before going up the stairs. Something had caught his eye.

Standing in the main office was Mrs. Dodds, who looked very animated as she pointed and ranted at a very tall man with a scruffy beard. His brown hair almost reached his shoulders. The bearded man was dressed up, wearing khaki pants and short sleeved button-up shirt. A coffee mug rested in his hand.

The man shook his head and opened the door, gesturing for Mrs. Dodds to leave. The woman huffed and stormed out, stopping on the other side. "I'm starting to wonder if they've gotten to you, Chiron." A lot of the students stopped to watch. "These children need to know who they're going to school with."

"Believe me, Mrs. Dodds, I'm sure they are already quite familiar with all the rumors. But, as the principal, I cannot allow for outright persecution to happen at my school." He planted his feet in the doorway and slipped the hand he wasn't using to hold the coffee into his pocket. "Besides, the entire town is already aware of the pastor's death."

"And you're not going to speak about it?" The woman screeched.

Chiron let out a sigh. "I allowed for a prayer circle to go on yesterday morning. I felt that would suffice."

Mrs. Dodds narrowed her eyes and wagged her finger in Chiron's face. "Jesus is coming again, Mr. Brunner. I do hope you're on the right side when it happens." She adjusted her purse on her shoulder. "The town is already concerned, you not attending church and all. It would be _unfortunate_ if the school board were to think you weren't...right for the job anymore."

The man did not seem bothered by her words. He arched an eyebrow at her. "My dear, Mrs. Dodds, the only unfortunate thing going on at this school is your poor choice in hats."

Percy bit back a laugh. And, judging by the sound of it, several other students found it amusing, as Percy heard chuckles. Mrs. Dodds's mouth was agape, her hand over her chest. "Well I never!" Turning with a huff, the woman made her way to the exit, students jumping out of her way. "I will not rest, Chiron! I will not rest until this school is safe from those devil worshipers!"

The raven-haired boy shook his head with a laugh as he turned around to head to class, only to bump into someone. The smell of nutmeg instantly filled his nose. Drew stood in front of him, looking like someone just spilled coffee all over her. "Excuse you."

Percy shook his head, finding himself at a loss for words. "I, um-hi."

The Asian girl rolled her eyes and inspected her nails. "It would do you well to learn your place around here," she said with a smirk. She quickly glanced him over before snapping her fingers and moving past him. Percy's mouth hung open as he turned to watch her walk away.

A slender boy with followed after her, carrying a lot of books in his hands. His brown hair was cut short and styled to the side, kept from his emerald green eyes. He watched Percy closely as he walked by, mouthing an apology.

Percy blinked a few times and rubbed his head. It felt...foggy, like he could not think straight, or was just waking up. He stared back at the brunet, who smiled and winked at him before turning a corner. Percy stood there like a statue, letting people walk around him. His brow furrowed as he studied the last spot he had seen Drew before she had vanished. That had been odd.

* * *

Percy coughed several times, wiping the powder from in front of his face as the explosion of flour cleared. He turned to give Nico an apologetic look, finding the boy in a similar flour covered state. Nico glared at him, attempting to wipe off his shirt.

"Do you even know what you're doing?"

Percy pursed his lips and rubbed the back of his neck. "Not really." He cringed when Nico shook the flour from his hair. "I'm really sorry."

Ms. Stheno came to stand in front of them, looking appalled. "In all my years of teaching this class, no one has managed to make this big of a mess." Even though it had been clearly Percy's fault, she turned to give Nico a look. Nico just shook his head and went back to trying to clean himself up. "I expect you both to stay after and clean this up."

"Yes, ma'am," Nico mumbled. Percy just nodded. "Just great."

Percy began clearing their workstation so it could be wiped clean. "I really am sorry."

"Were you even listening?" Nico glared at him.

Truthfully? Percy had honestly not been paying attention. His mind was still a little foggy from his encounter with Drew, and that was not even counting his partner. Nico had been a bit of a distraction for him. While he had not been wearing it when Percy had seen him earlier, Nico had entered the classroom with yet another jacket, this time an aviator jacket. How the boy did not suffocate with all these jackets was beyond Percy. Percy was also thankful that the boy had taken it off before they had started baking.

But it had been once the boy had taken his seat that Percy had really taken notice. Nico was shaking today. The dark bags under his eyes very pronounced today, his eyes barely hanging open. The boy had obviously gotten little sleep, if any at all. And, even when they were tasked with baking a small cake, Nico's hands shook as he sat out the ingredients.

But whenever Percy tried to help, Nico had quickly shut him down. Percy was going to guess that Nico had not been paying much attention while letting Percy deal with the flour. Ms. Stheno huffed from her desk.

"All right class, I'll be right back. It looks like I need to get a mop and a rag," the woman announced. With a dark look in Nico's direction, she left the room.

Before Percy could even process what was happening, Nico had yanked off his T-shirt and tossed it onto his chair. A black metallic chain caught Percy's attention. It swung from Nico's neck before the boy grabbed it to still the necklace. Percy did a quick glance over Nico's body, licking his lips as he took in the slender boy's torso.

He was so thin, a hint of his ribs was even showing. There were no tan lines, not that Percy had really expected any. No hair lay upon the boy's soft looking skin. Quickly running his fingers through his hair to get out any remaining flour, Nico pulled a fresh shirt from his backpack.

"Whoa," Percy breathed out as the necklace spun to face him.

A bright red stone sat in its center, the name 'di Angelo' scrawled out inside it. A similar skull to the one that had been on Nico's ring sat above the name, this one looking slightly more darker. Four talons sat around the red stone, holding it in place.

"Keep staring at me and you're going to get yourself labeled as gay." Percy blinked and looked up to meet Nico's eyes, his cheeks now pink. Nico studied him with a blank expression as he slipped the clean shirt over his head, hiding the necklace from Percy's prying gaze. "I do hope you brought a change of clothes."

Percy kind of wanted to kick himself. "Not really," he mumbled.

"Sucks for you then."

During the remainder of their class, Percy and Nico worked hard to clean up their station, and their work paid off as the bell rang and their area was decently cleaned. Ms. Stheno tapped a finger to her lips as she inspected the station. "I suppose it'll do."

Percy breathed a sigh of relief. He turned to smile at Nico, but the boy was already at the door. The brown-eyed boy turned to glance at Percy briefly before disappearing down the hall. The tall boy let out a groan as he fell back into his seat. He needed to get to his next class, but he also needed to clean himself up. The only class he would need a change of clothes for was his last class, and since it was the last class of the day, he felt it was not necessary for him to worry about showering after baseball tryouts were over. But, given that he was hoping to end up on the team, and that he was pretty much slaughtering any chance of a social standing with the majority of this school, Percy was beginning to think he needed to bring spare clothes from now on.

Grabbing his backpack, Percy stepped into the hall and headed for the bathroom. At the very least, he could try taking a wet paper towel to his shirt. He stepped off to the side to enter the bathroom, but stopped before turning the small corner that was inside.

"I'm trying, really I am," came a familiar voice. Percy just could not quite place it, though. "I can't tell my father. I mean, he was already suspicious, that's why I got put in this situation."

A sigh was let out from the other side of the wall. "I'm not asking you to tell him." Percy's brow furrowed, recognizing Nico's voice. "I just-stop!" Percy slid along the wall at the sound of something being smacked. Peering into the mirror on the opposite wall, Percy found the blond boy with the scar on his lip standing there, rubbing his hand. Nico glared at him. "You know how I feel about this, and I'm not in the mood to have to tell you again."

"You're grumpy because you're not sleeping." The blond kid reached out and tilted Nico's chin up. "How much did you sleep last night?"

Nico jerked his head away. "I'm fine." The pale boy let out a sigh. "I just...I know why you're doing what you're doing, and I don't need protecting from him."

"I'm just concerned."

Nico held up a hand, keeping the blond at a distance. "And I know you're full of shit." The blond opened his mouth, but Nico cut him off. "Okay, maybe not full of shit, but I know you have other motives."

"I can't help it," the blond whispered.

Nico pursed his lips. "Jason, you know where I stand with this." Nico rubbed at his face, blowing out a breath.

Jason clenched his fists at his side. "You've been acting like your father lately, closed off and hands off. I know what you're doing, but we-I need your help."

Nico wrapped his arms around himself. "She-"

"Sits back and lets others run things," Jason interrupted. "Stop playing the puppeteer." He reached out and touched Nico's arm, smiling at the boy. "Please? For me? We've known each other since we were babies, and we used to be really close."

"And you wonder why your father gets suspicions," Nico mumbled. Jason tossed him a look. Nico let out a sigh, rolling his eyes. "Things are working fine. And, besides, my sister-"

Percy's eyes widened as something shoved him toppling to the floor. Jason and Nico jumped as Percy slid into the trashcan that sat beside the sink. Percy groaned and rolled over, meeting the girl that Annabeth had identified as Medea yesterday. And, today, she had decided to wear even more black.

A spark of amusement shined in her eyes as she stepped over Percy's legs. "What about your dear sister, sweet brother?"

Nico glared at the girl. Jason pursed his lips, taking a step away from Nico. "Hey," he said, throwing on a smile.

Medea eyed the blond before taking his hand. "I was just looking for you," she said, pecking the blond on the lips. Nico crossed his arms and looked away. "It seems you had a fly in the room." She turned to smirk at Percy.

Nico's dark gaze fell upon Percy. The green-eyed boy felt the color drain from his face. The look Nico gave him could have made a murderer feel nervous. "How long have you been there?"

Percy gulped. "I, uh-not long."

Medea patted Nico's cheek. "Don't tell me you're losing your touch, brother."

The brother tossed his sister a venomous look. And by some chance Percy did not think would have been possible, the smile was wiped from Medea's lips. She huffed and hooped her arm through Jason's. Nico turned back to Percy. "Don't spy on me."

"I wasn't. I just," Percy motioned to his clothes, "wanted to clean up."

The tall blond moved forward and held his hand up. "You must be the new kid we've been hearing about." Percy took the hand and was yanked to his feet, though the blond did not release his hand. "The name's Jason. Jason Grace. I think you met my sister, Thalia, the other day."

Percy shook the blond's hand. "Percy Jackson. And, yeah, I sort of hung out with her the other day."

Jason chuckled. "Yeah, don't expect much from my sister when it comes to manual labor."

Medea rolled her eyes. "Come on, sweetie." She grabbed the blond's arm and dragged him out the door, waving to Nico as he went.

Percy's green eyes fell on Nico again, who was still glaring at him. The exhaustion seemed to have lifted from the boy's gaze, though it was now replaced with that of anger. Nico stepped forward, walking by Percy, but stopped beside the green-eyed boy.

"Forget what you heard, or I'll make you rethink trying to befriend us."

And with that, Nico disappeared from the bathroom. Percy, for his part, glanced up from admiring Nico's backside as he left. One good thing about the boy's clothing: the jeans were tight. Percy chuckled and grabbed a paper towel, running it under some water.

He was going to assume Nico was just being defensive, like Annabeth had said yesterday. That was part of the reason Percy did not really find that threat intimidating. He looked down at his shirt and began wiping it clean of any remaining trace of flour.

Once he was done, Percy pulled out his phone and cursed. He was going to be late for class. Grabbing his backpack from the floor, Percy ran out the door and dashed down the hall. The raven-haired boy took the stairs down as quickly as possible, stumbling at the bottom. Percy let out a yelp as he fell forward, only to be caught by a boy with brown curls.

"Whoa, brother, slow down," came the boy's mellow voice. Percy blinked as he stood up straight. The boy was roughly the same height as him, perhaps an inch or two shorter. Light brown eyes shined back at Percy, twinkling with amusement. A wispy beard covered on the brunet's chin. The boy took a step back. "Don't believe I've seen you around before, so you must be the new kid."

"Um, yeah." Percy adjusted his backpack, which was threatening to fall off his shoulder. "Percy Jackson."

The brunet took his hand with a smile, shaking it wildly. "Grover Underwood."

Percy's eyes widened slightly. This was the boy Kinzie and her friends had talked about yesterday at lunch. "Uh, thanks. I'd have looked like an idiot if I had fallen on my face."

Grover clapped him on the arm. "Don't mention it, man." With a quick smile, the brunet jogged up the stairs.

Percy turned to watch him go, his brows furrowed. For some reason, he had expected something different when meeting this guy. The way the others had talked about it, he figured Grover would have been depressed, or something. He definitely did not picture Grover being the image of calm and happiness.

Percy's next class was Woodshop, which was as boring as it sounded. But he really did not have much of a choice, considering he had already taken most of the curriculum that was offered at this school. There was one thing Percy found himself interested in getting to class for, though. There were two kids from the shunned families in there.

Leo Valdez and Charles Beckendorf. Percy had learned their names when attendance was taken yesterday, but had not had a chance to speak to them as of yet. Percy briskly walked into the classroom as the bell went off, earning him a pointed look from the teacher.

"Cutting it close there, Mr. Jackson," the teacher, a man named Tantalus, muttered as Percy took his seat. He gave the room a pointed look to silence the snickering.

The man was very odd looking, in Percy's opinion. He was very thin and tall, hunching slightly. His hair was grey and shooting in every direction imaginable. He also seemed to always have dirt under his nails and bad breath. But what stood out the most was the man's taste in shirts. Today's choice was a bright orange polo.

Tantalus reached down, still eyeing the class, to pick up a plastic cup. "All right, today, children," he began in a slightly mocking tone, "we're going to-shit!"

The class busted out laughing as the man dropped his cup, quickly having taken notice that it was leaking on him. The man narrowed his eyes as he bent down to pick up the cup. Percy had to cover his mouth to hide his laughter upon noticing the small hole that had been made in the red plastic cup.

"Who is responsible for this?" The man yelled. No one answered. The man rubbed his head as he dropped the cup in the garbage. "I knew I shouldn't have left that on my desk when I had to go make a phone call. You two," he pointed to Charles and Leo, "where are your hooligan friends?"

"In class, I would imagine," Leo responded, smirking cockily. "Perhaps they did it from their history class."

"Don't mock me, Valdez."

Charles elbowed the smaller boy. "Sorry, sir. I'm sure it wasn't them."

Tantalus growled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "No matter, let's just get on with class." He grabbed a roll of paper towels from his desk and used it to clean up the water. "Stupid kids," he muttered before clearing his throat. "Today, I want to assign your first project. You're going to be making art, wondrous art. I want to marvel upon the beauty of your work. Now, we're going to do something different. This year, I want you to make...a bird house."

"Don't you always assign that?" One student asked.

"No talking in my class!" Tantalus narrowed his eyes, drawing his hands to his chest like some rat. "You'll make a damned bird house and you'll like it!" Seeing the smirks on the class's face, he rolled his eyes. "Fine, we'll do something different. It'll be a group project. Three to a group, and you can pick your partners." The man took a brief pause, eyeing the class. "Battle to the death!"

The teenagers hesitated a moment before quietly getting up and going to talk to one another. To say Tantalus looked disappointed by the lack of aggression might have been an understatement. Percy blew out a breath as he watched the man, finding the urge to laugh. The man was interesting, to say the least.

He really was not sure if he should been surprised or not, but one of the students came over to him. An Asian boy with glossy black hair and a slim, wiry build stood to the side of him. His clothes, which were slightly too big for him, hung loosely from his body, he even had to wear a belt to keep his pants from falling off. When Percy glanced up, he was met by a brown eye and an eye patch.

The guy smiled at Percy as he held out his hand. "Hey, the name's Ethan. You want to be in my group?" He glanced up, casting a dark look over to Leo and Charles. "I would hate for you to have to be left with no options, so I just thought I'd offer you some assistance."

"Um." Percy closed his mouth. Furrowing his brow, he blew out a breath. He was at a loss for words. Even though he knew what his choice in all of this was going to be, he did not really want to be rude either. That would just make him like everyone else in this town. "No thanks, I'm fine."

Ethan eyed him for a second, looking at Percy like he was crazy. "You sure? You know they're-"

"Witches?" Percy nodded. "That's what I keep hearing. Not really scared, though, to be honest." Percy tossed the guy a smile and clapped him on the shoulder as he stood up. "Thanks for the offer, though."

Ethan nodded with his mouth open. Percy chuckled to himself as he strolled over to where Leo and Charles sat. They froze when he sat down across from them, looking at each other in disbelief. Leo's mouth floundered a few times.

Charles cleared his throat. "You, uh, actually want to be our partner?"

Percy nodded his head. "Yeah," he replied, like it was the most normal thing in the world. "If that's okay with you guys."

Charles turned to Leo, who still had his wide eyes trained on Percy. "Dude, we've never had a partner before." A grin finally broke out across the Latino boy's lips. "Welcome aboard!"

"Shhh!" Tantalus glared at them from his desk.

Leo shot up from his chair, grabbing Percy's hand and shaking it energetically. "So, I'm Leo, and this is my brother, Charles."

"Beckendorf," Charles said with a nod. "I just prefer Beckendorf."

"Okay." Percy nodded. "Wait," Percy's brow furrowed, "you're brothers? But you have different last names."

Beckendorf nodded with a small chuckle. "Yeah, we also have a brother with the last name Mason. Our dad's remarried a few times."

"Yeah, you should meet Silena's mom." Leo received a quick punch to the shoulder for that comment.

"Silena?" Percy asked. Luke had mentioned that name.

Leo rubbed his arm with a frown. "Charles's girlfriend, and the only one of her siblings to carry her mother's name."

"She has a lot then."

"Oh yeah, her mom's-" Leo shut his mouth upon receiving a dark look from Beckendorf. "Um, so, Luke mentioned you."

Beckendorf relaxed, resting his large arms on the table. He was massive, that much could be said. He looked like a mountain, and made even Percy feel small. The guy's arms were almost as big as Percy's torso. His skin was a dark ebony, much darker than that of Hazel's. The dude's hands had to be the size of a baseball mitt.

Leo glanced at Beckendorf from the corner of his eye. He, on the other hand, was relatively small compared to his brother. A lot more hair sat on his head, too. Black curls sat above the boy's elfish looking face. His body reminded Percy of Nico, though with a darker skin tone and a hint of more muscle on him.

Percy cleared his throat. "I get the feeling that Luke talks about me a lot."

Leo grinned. "Just mentioned you." The boy shrugged. "You're sort of an interesting topic. It's not every day that we have someone willing to socialize with the likes of us." He motioned between himself and Beckendorf. "Didn't really think he was serious with it all, though."

"What all has he said about me?"

"That you don't carry a Bible." Beckendorf let out a bellowing laugh. "And that's pretty much all I need to know. I'd assume you're not racist and a bigot, unlike most people in this town."

Percy smirked at the two of them. "Well, I'd hope that's not all that's required of me to be friends with all of you."

Leo leaned back in his chair, scrunching his lips. "Some of us can be a bit of an acquired taste. Like Drew and Medea." His eyebrows rose, glancing off to the side. "Nico doesn't seem that fond of you, he's sort of cautious about what angle you're working."

The green-eyed boy shook his head. "I just think all of this is stupid." He chuckled. "I mean, it's like I stepped into an old Salem, where the villagers were trying to burn you at the stake."

"Funny," Leo chuckled nervously. He tossed Beckendorf a quick look. Beckendorf just waved him off. "So, Percy, Luke's talking about having you hangout with us."

"It has to be discussed?"

"Just making sure everyone's on their best behavior." Beckendorf shrugged. "Luke's brothers are usually up to no good," the large boy nodded towards the teacher's desk, "if you can't tell by their prank."

"The twins are awesome," Leo chuckled. "Last year, at prom, they had me build-"

Beckendorf placed his hand over Leo's mouth. "He gets a little excited when he drinks coffee." He ruffled the smaller boy's hair as he removed his hand. "But, yeah, it'll probably be a small group, just to get you used to us. There are quite a few of us, and we wouldn't want you getting overwhelmed."

Percy nodded as he stared back at Beckendorf. One thing he was noticing about these kids: none of them really spoke with an accent. Small hints in a few of the ones Percy had talked to, but nowhere near as potent as with the other people in the town. It made him wonder.

As the time ticked on in the class, the trio got to work on delegating assignments. It quickly became apparent to Percy that his two partners knew what they were doing when it came to craftsmanship. So, for most of the discussion, he simply nodded and agreed to do any part that was given to him. For the most part, it sounded like an easy A.

Percy nearly jumped out of his skin when he exited the class after the bell rang. His eyebrows rose as he came face to face with Nico, looking like death. The look of exhaustion had returned to the boy, who slouched as he stood in the hall. A bored look sat on his face as he met Percy's eyes. "Must I run into you everywhere?"

"Gives me a chance to grow on you." Percy smirked, receiving a glare from Nico. "Maybe I should worry about being followed home."

"Oh no, wouldn't want that. I might turn you into a toad while you sleep."

"Can I be a sexy toad?"

Nico's eyes widened slightly, a faint blush coming to his cheeks. Leo came from behind Percy, laughing. "Wow, it seems your intimidation thing isn't working on him, Neeks."

The pale boy ran his tongue along his teeth as he looked Percy over. "I came here for Leo," he said, holding Percy's gaze. With a click of his tongue, he looked to the Latino boy. Beckendorf patted Percy on the shoulder as he passed. "You mind if I borrow your brother?"

Beckendorf looked between Nico and Leo before shrugging. "Knock yourself out."

"What's up?" Leo asked. Nico just nodded his head down the hall. Leo smirked. "C'mon, dude, would it kill you to smile?"

Nico turned his head to glare at the Latino boy as they walked off. "Just leave me alone," he said exasperatedly. "I'm not in the mood to joke." Slipping his hands into the pockets of his aviator jacket, Nico disappeared into the crowd of students with Leo.

Percy frowned and scratched his chest as he headed towards the back stairs. English was his next class, yet again containing two of Luke's bunch of friends. Thalia happened to be one of them, while the other girl seemed to talk the raven-haired girl's ear off. Rachel was her name, or so Percy had gathered when attendance had been taken yesterday.

She seemed to zone out a lot, doodling in her notebook, which was exactly what she was doing when Percy entered the room. Thalia nodded at him as he walked towards the desks. But, instead of sitting where he had the day before, Percy changed course to sit in front of Rachel.

The girl raised a hand to wave in acknowledgment, not even bothering to look up. It seemed her notebook was not the only thing the girl doodled on, judging by the appearance of her arms and jeans. A golden bangle rested on her right arm, a scepter engraved in its metal and two small peacock feather fragments hanging from its sides. She was tall and thin, her frizzy red hair resting on her shoulders.

"Wow," Thalia said, blinking at Percy. The green-eyed boy turned to face her. "The others were right, you are committing suicide today."

Percy smirked. "Just enjoying myself. You guys seem like decent people to me."

A spark of amusement resonated in Thalia's blue eyes. "You hear that, Rachel? We're decent people." The girl laughed, crossing her arms on her desk.

Percy turned his head as the red haired girl looked up, meeting him with a pair of intense green eyes. The girl's brow furrowed as she looked him over. "Oh thank god," the girl breathed out. Percy and Thalia looked at her strangely. Rachel shut her mouth, her brow furrowing again. "Um, I mean, you're the boy Luke was talking about, right?"

Percy quirked a brow. He turned to Thalia, who had an eyebrow raised and her mouth was hanging slightly ajar. The boy tilted his head to the side. "Yeah, that's me." It was apparent that Thalia did not believe the girl either, and they had known each other longer.

"Rachel?"

The girl in question was studying Percy's face again. "Nice to meet you."

The boy nodded in response. The girl was strange. She stared at him as if she was questioning his presence there. He was afraid she might reach out and pinch him.

"Hey, freaks," Kelli sneered as she walked past their desks, Dylan in tow. Thalia turned to stick her tongue out and flip Kelli off.

"Girls." Everyone fell quiet as the teacher entered, frowning at them. "Do I need to reiterate my rules for the class?"

"No, ma'am," Thalia and Kelli answered.

The woman's mousy brown hair fell over her shoulders like curtains, shining faintly in the light. Her warm, dark brown eyes reminded Percy of a warm fire, cozy and inviting. She wore a freshly pressed blouse with a brown skirt that came up to her knees, a pair of flats resting on her feet. She raised a well-manicured finger.

"There will be no intolerance in my classroom." Her eyes flickered to Thalia when the girl snickered. "Nor will there be any rude gestures tossed around in here." She took in a deep breath, making the inward motion with her hands. "This is a peaceful environment, and I will not see this course soiled by what goes on between the community."

"Yes, Mrs. Hestia," the class responded.

"Good, now-" The door opened, Hestia turning to look. Grover walked in, looking sheepish. Hestia let out a sigh. "How nice of you to join us, Mr. Underwood. I trust you have an excuse for missing my class yesterday?"

Grover cleared his throat, handing the teacher a slip of paper. "Sorry, ma'am, I was still visiting family."

Hestia sighed and nodded her head, handing the slip back to the brunet. "Very well," she motioned to the desk, "feel free to take a seat wherever you deem fitting." Walking over to her desk, Hestia picked up a book. "Now then, if you'll all turn to page four, we'll begin our first lesson for the semester."

* * *

By the end of the day, Percy found himself disliking surprises. After he was done with his last day of tryouts, he had headed back to the locker room to change back into his regular clothes before the team list was posted. The problem was that he ended up on his back as soon as he opened the door.

He groaned and moved to sit up, finding two pairs of hands resting on his back to help get him to his feet. "Whoa there," came one voice.

"You came out of nowhere," laughed a second.

Percy shook his head. He must have hit his head harder than he thought, because he was seeing double. Two boys with brown, curly hair stood in front of him, both with the same mischievous grin plastered on their faces. They were both on the skinny side, their jeans fitting perfectly to their waists. Their blue eyes widened upon hearing the sound of a small explosion behind them.

"Stolls!" Came a yell from inside the locker room.

"Got to go," they said simultaneously.

"Wait!" Percy yelled after them as they dashed towards the parking lot. But they were gone, heading straight for a new, very expensive looking silver mustang. There was something about them, Percy thought, something that seemed familiar. He just could not quite place it. Something about their grins.

The coach, a short man by the name of Gleeson Hedge, came barreling out of the locker room, wiping whip cream from his face. "Did you see two hooligans run through here, Jackson?"

Percy's mouth floundered as he looked between the man and the direction the boys had run. When Percy did not respond, Hedge waved him off and went back inside. A smirk spread across the boy's lips as soon as the door was closed, soon followed by uncontrollable laughter. His aunt and ex-boyfriend hated it, but Percy had always been the mischievous sort. Something he got from his dad, according to his aunt.

His laughter stopped when he looked down to notice himself scratching his chest. He let out a sigh, silently cursing himself as he pushed open the door. He opened the locker that was assigned to him for the time being. He just hoped the list that was about to be posted would keep it his locker.

After changing, Percy walked out of the building. The other guys that had tried out for the team had gathered around the dugout. Percy felt his breath hitch. Well, this was it, he thought. And it really was no surprise to him when some of the kids parted to let him through. With the amount of suicide he had done today it was bound to happen. Kinzie had not been pleased with him at all when they had eaten lunch. But had that stopped him?

No, and he had no intention of backing down from his decision.

Dylan, who had also tried out for the team, clapped him on the shoulder when he reached the front. "Congratulations, buddy, looks like you made it." He lightly punched Percy's shoulder. "Now you won't have to hangout with those creepy kids, since everybody loves the people that play sports."

Even though Dylan had said it, Percy still looked to make sure. And there his name was, plain as day. He smiled to himself. "I guess I'll be seeing you around then." He received a pat on the arm from Dylan. Percy's brow furrowed as the dark haired boy strutted off.

The kids in the town did not seem all that bad, at least when Luke and the others were not involved. But the intolerance sort of soured their presence for Percy. He was sort of hoping that this little endeavor of his would show everyone that these kids were not to be feared and persecuted.

Having had enough school for the day, Percy readjusted the strap on his backpack and headed towards the parking lot. At least he had made the team-that was some good news. His brow furrowed as his phone began to vibrate.

It was a text from his aunt.

_Furniture waiting for you at your apartment._

Great, he thought, she had given up on trusting him to do it. Which, in all honesty, was probably for the best, considering it seemed to be the last thing on his mind. Percy tossed his backpack into his car and climbed in, cranking the car and pulling out of his parking spot.

Sure enough, when he got home, he found a truck sitting outside his apartment building. Two men stood beside it, one of the scribbling on a clipboard. The other one looked up when he climbed out of his car. "You Percy Jackson?"

He nodded. "Yes, sir, that's me."

The man with the clipboard looked up with a smile. "Seems your aunt was worried about you, called us and said you had probably forgotten to rent some furniture." The man tipped his hat back as he walked towards the back. "I was a bit surprised when she said you were living out here on your own, what with you being young and all."

Percy peered into the truck. A bed, couch, some chairs, a coffee table, a dresser, and other pieces of furniture had been loaded inside. "I'm just out here looking for some family."

The two men looked at each other. "Extended family?" The shorter of the two asked.

Percy shook his head. "Don't think so." He rubbed his arm. "Not really sure. It's just some of my dad's family."

The man with the clipboard blew out a breath. "No one that I can think of in town has any out of state relatives." The guy took off his cap and scratched his head. "And you're from California?" Percy nodded. "Nope, nobody that I can think of."

Percy nodded his head in understanding. He supposed it was not going to be easy. How did his aunt even know his family was still here? In all honesty, he was a little relieved. If he did not find anyone, maybe his aunt would let him come home. After seeing this town, he had no desire to stay. Sure it was peaceful and quiet, but the people sort of ruined it with their prejudice against those families.

Percy opened his apartment and let the men do their job. He offered to help, but they declined, saying it would not be "hospitable of them". He walked into the area that was his kitchen while they were outside and pulled two glasses from the cabinet. He ran them both under some cold water and grabbed some ice from the fridge.

"At least let me give you something to drink." He glanced past them. "It's really humid outside."

The two men chuckled, having deposited his couch. The man without the cap wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. "You get used to it after a while."

Percy did not see how. It was like a furnace outside. But they took the iced water and drank it happily. The man with the cap sat his down and studied Percy. "Jackson, wasn't it?" Percy nodded. "No, I know for a fact there aren't any Jacksons around here."

Percy wanted to curse himself. "You're sure?" Both men nodded. "Oh," Percy said dejectedly, "well thanks for telling me."

While the men unloaded Percy's new furniture, Percy sat himself down at the kitchen island and got to work on some of his homework. He glanced at his phone from time to time. What he really wanted to do was call his aunt, telling her what he had just learned, but he didn't. His aunt was a smart woman and she would not have sent him out here unless she had her facts straight.

Over an hour later, Percy closed the door upon the movers' departure. He sighed and leaned against the door. His shoulders were sore and his entire body felt exhausted. He had given it his all at tryouts today, and now his body was suffering the consequences.

He groaned as he glanced at the kitchen. Percy really did not feel like cooking. He dragged his feet towards the fridge, only to stop.

The boy let out another groan and hung his head at the sound of a knock at his door. Percy blew his lips and turned around, running his fingers through his hair. Who could that be? Opening the door, Percy fought every urge to slam the door shut.

Mrs. Dodds stood there, with several plastic containers filled with food all stacked on a large metal plate. "I'm sorry to intrude like this, Perseus, but your landlady informed us at church that you were living here by yourself." She held up the food. "May I come in?"

Before Percy could answer, his stomach growled at the smell of food. "Um, I guess."

Mrs. Dodds moved past him and sat the food down. She then tasked herself with sorting the containers and placing them properly around the kitchen island. "And, well, after hearing about your mother, I just couldn't stand by and let you starve."

"Oh." Percy blinked a few times. He had to remind himself that these people were not all bad. They could be ignorant about things, but they were still nice at heart. For the most part. "Thank you." His face paled. "Wait, is this going to become a thing?"

"What's that, sugar?"

The boy cleared his throat, gesturing to the food. "I just...didn't think people would actually take the time to...make...food...for me." He realized that, by the end of his sentence, his statement had sounded more like a question, rather than a statement. "I mean-"

Mrs. Dodds waved him off. "Oh think nothing of it, sweetie. The ladies at church don't mind taking care of a handsome young man such as yourself." She picked up the metal plate she had used to carry her mountain of food containers in and placed it against her stomach. "Now then, if you need anything else, just call this number," she said, handing Percy a card.

Percy slowly nodded his head, slipping the card into his pocket. "Thank you."

The woman moved towards the door, clearing her throat. "Now, as you know, Percy, we had a murder occur here just a few days ago. So, you need to make sure your doors are locked every night, and make sure you say your prayers." She raised a finger. "It was those families, I tell you that now. I know, I know it was them. You need to stay away from them, or they might put a curse on you."

And there it was, the reason he kept getting annoyed with these people. Sure they could be nice, but that did not stop them from being hateful as well. How the Christian religion could have gotten so convoluted was beyond him. Last he recalled, Jesus preached about love and acceptance, not burning sinners and outcasts at the stake.

"Not that I mean to offend," Percy began, "but what have they exactly done to warrant all of this persecution?"

That seemed to be the wrong thing to ask. "What have they done? What haven't they done? They are devils, all of them. Drownings, accidents, illness, people going missing; you name it, and it's happened here." The woman flung her arms in the air. "If you do anything wrong to them, you end up getting cursed. Anyone who has severely attacked them has had something happen to them. Don't you consider that a little strange?"

"But people seem to constantly treat them badly."

"Through the protection of the Lord, we might be spared from evil's touch." Percy was not surprised when the woman pulled out a pocket Bible from her purse. She gave him a stern look before placing it in his hand. "You should read this every night, son, it'll help ward them off. The Lord's faithful will prevail in the war against evil."

Percy stared down at the book as the crazy woman closed his door. But before he could even put it down, there was another knock at his door. He sighed, figuring it was Mrs. Dodds again, and opened it.

"Hey there, Percy!" Luke grinned at him, leaning against the doorframe. He tossed his thumb over his shoulder. "Looks you had a visit from the town's crazy old bat." His lips tilted up more. "We had to sneak up here, so she wouldn't try tossing holy water on us."

Stepping aside, Luke revealed the very two boys that Percy had gotten trampled by after tryouts. The only difference in their appearance was the shirts they wore. The one on the left wore a light blue T-shirt, while the duplicate wore a green one. And both of them were carrying food.

Luke stepped around Percy. "So, the twins' mom decided to cook you something to eat, if you want it."

The identical boys stepped forward with matching grins to the one Luke wore. Glancing between the three of them, it clicked in the green-eyed boy's mind where he had seen those grins in the first place. These were the twins he had heard about on his very first day in town.

"Um," Percy motioned to the kitchen area, "I guess find a place to put it over there."

The boy in green sat his plate down next to the stove before poking around what Mrs. Dodds had brought. "Looks like Mrs. Dodds beat us to it, Luke."

The tall blond blew his lips. "Figures." He looked at Percy with a wag of his brow. "The church ladies around here are relentless. I did try to tell you."

Percy let out a groan. "You did, I just didn't think you were being serious." He glanced at the food. "Is this the end of it?"

"Nope," replied the boy in blue.

"Ah." Luke motioned to the twins. "I guess I forgot to introduce you to the troublemakers of the family."

Both boys rolled their eyes simultaneously. The one in green slung his arm around his clone. "You're one to talk." He grinned over at Percy. "Plus we already ran into, Percy."

The other twin snickered. "Literally."

Luke shook his head. "Travis and Connor, the twins and youngest of my dad's brood." He tossed his thumb over to them. "Travis is the one in green and is the ringleader of their stunts. Connor is the one in blue. He's got a way with words and will talk you out of your socks."

"Pleased to meet you," the twins said together. Percy glanced over at Luke, who chuckled. They both offered Percy their right hand to shake.

When he glanced down to shake their hands, his brow furrowed. Around their wrists were matching hemp bracelets. There were several other bands around their wrists, but these stood out because of the large brown beads that rested in the center. White symbols were etched across both of the beads, but a distinct image of a caduceus rested in the very center.

"Nice to meet you," Percy said quietly, releasing Connor's hand. He tried to not let his eyes linger on the jewelry, not wanting to be caught staring, but something else caught his attention when Connor let his hand drop to his side.

All of the bracelets fell towards the boy's hand, revealing a very disturbing image of a carved cross on the boy's lightly tanned wrist. Percy's brow furrowed as he stared down at it.

Connor placed his arm behind his back, grabbing it with the other one. He was looking down when Percy shifted his gaze to look the brunet in the face. Travis had his lips pressed into a thin line, reaching up to rub his brother's back.

Percy turned to Luke. "What happened to him?"

The blond now wore a solemn expression. "Exactly what you probably think happened." His eyes flickered over to his brothers. "Go wait in the car, I'll be down in a second."

Travis leaned in and whispered something to Connor before leading the other brunet out of the apartment. Luke crossed his arms, watching the two leave from the corner of his eye. Once the door was closed, he let out a sigh.

"It happened over the summer. Thalia and Bianca found him in a ditch, not far from where we live, shortly after the sun had gone down." The blond ran his fingers through his hair with another sigh. "It looked a lot worse when we got him inside, there was a lot of blood. Dad was scared that they might have cut too deep." Luke looked down, his eyes becoming unfocused. "They want to call us monsters, but you can see what they do. Hazel and Beckendorf, their families even got racial slurs before they married into our families.

"Connor said it was a bunch of guys on the football team." The blond clenched his fists. "I wanted to beat them until their mothers could no longer recognize them." There was a dark look in the blond's blue eyes when he looked up at Percy. "These are the people you sit with at lunch, these are the people who are trying to befriend you, trying to keep you from getting corrupted."

"Why didn't you?" Luke's brow furrowed at Percy's question. "What stopped you from going after them?"

Luke ran his tongue across his teeth, nodding his head. "Nico." He raked his fingers through his hair with another nod. "Nico stopped me. His sister got angry because of that, saying that they didn't deserve the mercy." He placed his hand on his chest. "I still stormed out of my house that night, ready to go hunt them down. But before I even started my car, I stopped myself. I told myself that if Nico could look past what they had done, then so could I."

Percy's brow furrowed. "Why? What happened to him?"

Luke scraped his foot against the floor, cursing under his breath. "Nothing," he whispered. He wiped a hang across his mouth. "Nothing, it's nothing. Just know that some messed up shit has gone on in this town. Quite frankly, I feel sorry for you. Because, chances are, whatever family you are here to look for, they are probably the same as everyone else in this town."

The green-eyed boy shook his head. "Doesn't really seem to matter. I've been informed there isn't anyone in town with the last name Jackson."

Luke nodded. "Didn't really want to disappoint you on your first day." A small smirk threatened to appear on his lips. "Don't really like being the bearer of bad news."

Percy eyed Luke for a moment. "Mrs. Dodds said similar stuff about you and the rest of your families. Is any of that true?" The boy raised a brow. "People going missing? Drownings? Odd occurrences?"

Luke chuckled dryly, staring down at his shoes. "The people around here are paranoid, Percy, and just looking for someone to blame." He looked up, his eyes no longer carrying that warmth they usually did. "Who are you going to believe, the Bible carrying witch-mongers?" He motioned towards the door. "There's evidence for you to actually see. My family and I didn't go looking for hate or to cause trouble."

"I'm sorry." Percy shook his head. "I didn't mean for it to come across like I was siding with them."

Luke blew out a breath, placing his hands on the back of his neck. "Don't worry about it. It just gets stressful sometimes, trying to keep them all looked after. After Connor, we're doing our best to prevent something like that from happening again. It's why you'll usually see more than one of us around at a time."

"What about Nico? He's by himself in Home Ec."

"That was his decision." Luke groaned and rubbed his neck. "He was taking something else, but when I signed up for the same course, he swapped at the last moment. That boy doesn't really like depending on others for help." He smiled. "And I think that's a problem he has with you. According to him, you're 'acting a little too concerned'."

"You seem to really care about him," Percy pointed out.

The blond chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. Well, like I said, we've known each other since we were born. I'd do anything for him." He glanced Percy over, studying the boy in front of him. It made Percy uncomfortable, for whatever reason. There was just something unspoken, uncertain, in the way Luke looked at him.

Percy cleared his throat. "So, could we hang this weekend?"

Luke's smile returned. "Yeah, that would probably be a good idea. I think a lot of us could use a day to relax. After what happened on Sunday, everyone has been a little on edge." He scratched his cheek. "Um, how about Saturday? We can go down to the river, or something?" Percy nodded. Luke backed towards the door. "Text me and we'll discuss the details."

"Sounds good."

Percy's smile dropped as soon as the door was closed. Connor's scar was still seared into his mind. This town was insane. The faster he got out of here, the better off he would be.

* * *

_There's you a hint at the dark side for the story. And that's not even the tip of the iceberg. A good bit more with Nico, so I hoped you enjoyed that. And Percy finally learned Jason's name. And what's a good story without the Stolls, I just love them. If you're looking for hints for what's going on, there's a ton of them in this chapter. But what are your thoughts on this chapter? I hope you enjoyed it. As for Percy and Nico's eventual romance: I'm going a bit of a different route with this story, so it might get a little complicated for me at some points. I'll talk more about that eventually, but I'm just trying to write this as a progression romance. In Children, it is at a slow pace, but I feel it's not shown enough how it develops. But I think I'm going to skip to the weekend for the next chapter, and feature the day with Luke and the others. That will be fun._

_But, yeah, I hope you enjoyed. I hope I'm doing a good job with this story, it feels a bit different for me than what I've written before. Don't know why exactly, something just feels different. It's not even that I think I'm causing it to derail and blow up, I just can't place what it is. But let me know your thoughts on what happened this chapter. I'm going to go pass out, so I'll see you lovely people later._


	4. Chapter 4

_Warning: Mild language? Religion bashing to a degree. Southern stereotypes that I blow out of __proportion_

_Disclaimer: I own nothing._

Chapter 4

Percy never dreamed, not really anyways. The only dream that ever stuck with him was the nightmare with his parents, and that was more of a jumbled flashback. He wiped a hand down his sweat-covered chest with a sigh. He had woken up with a start, his heart pounding in his chest. The problem was that he just could not remember what he had been dreaming about. Nothing. Not even a piece of it.

His eyes shot up from examining himself at the sound of a knock at his door. Throwing back the covers, Percy shot out of bed. Grabbing some pajama bottoms, he stumbled his way into the living room. He threw open the door to be greeted by the bright sun.

"Good morning, Percy!" Came Luke's voice from behind the glare of the morning's light. Percy groaned and shielded his eyes. "You don't look ready to go."

Percy rubbed his face. "What time is it?" He mumbled.

Luke shrugged. "Around ten. You better hurry up, we've got to go meet the others."

The raven-haired boy nodded. "Okay, just let me grab a quick shower and get dressed." He studied Luke for a moment. "You can wait inside."

Luke grinned, slipping a hand into his pocket. A pair of shades covered his eyes, while flip flops were on his feet. A sleeveless blue shirt covered his torso, hanging loosely from his frame. "I got some of the gang in my car. Do you care if they come up as well?"

Percy let out a yawn. "Yeah, sure, that's fine." He headed towards his room. "I'll be ready in, like, fifteen minutes."

After getting himself cleaned up in the shower, Percy returned to his living room, a towel over his shoulder, to find three new inhabitants. Travis and Connor were poking around his TV, inspecting his movies and games, mumbling to each other. Nico was with Luke, leaning against the blond.

Luke brushed some of Nico's black hair away from his face. "I told you that you should have slept longer," he whispered to the raven-haired boy. "You didn't have to wake up when I did."

"I wasn't tired." Nico buried his face into the crook of Luke's neck. "And you're the one who woke me up when you tripped getting out of bed."

"Maybe if you weren't all sprawled out, I wouldn't have had to work so hard to climb over you." Luke's blue eyes glanced up to greet Percy. "All done?"

Nico quickly removed himself from Luke, shooting Percy a dark look. "Took you long enough."

Percy shrugged, looking himself over. A light blue T-shirt rested on his torso, khaki shorts hung from his waist, and his wet hair hung into his eyes. "Gotta look good for you."

Luke snorted, quickly receiving an elbow to the stomach from Nico. The brown-eyed boy narrowed his eyes in Percy's direction. "Cute," he muttered dryly.

Percy smiled. "Thanks. I think I'm cute, too."

The twins snickered in the corner. Nico shot them a glare that they missed. "I thought you didn't carry a Bible?" Percy blinked at him, cocking his head to the side. Nico reached behind him to pick up the Bible Mrs. Dodds had left him from the kitchen counter.

"Oh, that." Percy shrugged. "Mrs. Dodds brought me food last night, and left that for me. Said it would ward off the witches."

Nico stared down at the book like he wanted to set it on fire. Percy wondered if the boy had even heard him. With a dark look, Nico tossed it aside. "Yes, it burned my skin just holding it," he mumbled sarcastically. "The devil in me is trembling in fear by its presence."

"They tried dumping holy water on him last year," Travis called from his spot.

The pale boy crossed his arms. "At school."

Connor chuckled. "But their reaction when it didn't do anything was quite amusing."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Speak for yourself."

Luke smiled and slipped an arm around Nico. He winked over at Percy. "Ready to go? The others will be at the river soon." Percy nodded. "Cool." He pulled out a set of keys and headed for the door. "You mind sitting in the back with the twins? Nico gets claustrophobic."

"Does he need to know that?" Nico mumbled on his way out the door.

Percy gave Luke a lopsided smile, the two sharing a look. Percy locked his door. "Yeah, sure, doesn't bother me."

The five of them made their way down to ground floor, where Luke unlocked an older looking silver car. Percy offered to be the one to sit in the middle, but the twins declined his offer and let him have the window seat behind Luke. Percy moved his hand from the seat, a tear in the leather irritating him. He frowned as he stared at the door. This had definitely not been the car he had seen picking up the twins yesterday.

Percy's eyes roamed up to the front. After cranking the car and pulling out, Luke reached over and grabbed Nico's hand. The raven-haired haired boy frowned and pulled his hand away. Luke chanced a glance over at the shorter boy, who was now staring out the window.

Percy cleared his throat. "So, with all this talk at school, I was sort of wondering: how many families are in your...?" Percy blew out a breath. He really did not know what to call them.

"Coven?" Connor grinned at him. Nico turned in his seat to glare at him. The brunet just held up his hands in a shrug. "What? It's what everyone in town calls us."

Travis grinned mischievously at Percy. "A coven of witches, damning the poor, innocent town to hell."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Twelve. Twelve families." His eyes met with Percy's green ones in the mirror. Our families have known each other for a very long time. So, with the rumors, people just started calling us a coven." With his fingers, he started counting them off. "Grace, di Angelo, Castellan, Chase, La Rue, Beauregard, Nightshade, Beckendorf, Gardner, Solace, Dare, and Burgundy."

Percy scrunched his lips. "Like the guy in that _Anchorman_ movie?"

Luke cracked up at that. "No." He cleared his throat. "I wouldn't try saying that to him or his kids, they don't like it when you make fun of their name."

"Seems like it could be hard to identify which people belong to a family, considering some have different last names."

"Ah." Luke made a face. "Yeah, I guess. Our parents get some bad rep for that." The blond smiled over at Nico. "But, for the most part, our parents just have to remarry. And the child will often just take the mother's last name instead, like the twins here." The twins grinned at Percy.

Percy turned to face the window, watching as all the trees passed them by. "So, why all the remarrying? Like, you're not much older than the twins, right?"

Luke nodded. "Two years, and then Chris is only a year younger than me. Um," Luke licked his lips, "it's just-"

"None of his business," Nico interrupted. The boy stared darkly at Percy. "We get enough judgment from the town, we don't need more of it."

"I-I wasn't." Percy shook his head. "Trust me, I didn't mean it like that." Nico studied him. "I swear."

Luke rolled his eyes and elbowed Nico in the shoulder. "Be nice. I'm sure he didn't mean it like that." Nico just grunted. "It's not a big deal, Percy. My dad was just lonely after what happened to my mom, so that's how Chris came to be." He smacked Nico's arm. "I thought you were going to try being nice today."

The boy rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, turning to stare out the window. "Whatever," Nico mumbled.

Luke smiled. "That's better."

The town had fallen behind them a few miles back, and Luke had now turned onto a dirt road. Percy's eyes darted around the wooded area. There did not seem to be any houses nearby. "Are we leaving Aimes?"

Luke shook his head. "No, it's still technically in the town line. We're actually not far from where we live." He pointed off to his right. "Just about two or three miles that way." Percy glanced out the window again as they passed by a large field with an old, nearly collapsed, barn. "No one really comes out this way, probably because of us."

Craning his neck, Percy could just barely make out the river off the car's right. The car slowed down and turned a small curve. A small clearing sat in front of them, a large tree rising from the ground where two cars were parked. Luke parked and turned off the car. The twins grinned at each other and jumped out of the car.

Percy got out and looked around. To his left sat a small field, the grass left uncut. The twins ran down a hill, towards the sound of running water. Luke wrapped an arm around Nico's shoulder and motioned for Percy to follow them.

"So you guys own all of this land?" Percy asked, turning to look at Luke as they walked. "Do you have like big southern houses? Big fields and all that?"

Luke chuckled. He cleared his throat, slipping his car keys into his pocket with the hand that wasn't around Nico. "Our houses aren't that impressive. Just typical houses, I guess." He shrugged. "Our families were just some of the first settlers here, so we got a bunch of the land. And with all the rumors, no one really wants to live near us."

When they arrived, six other kids were already waiting there. Percy recognized most of them, save for three. Nico's sister, Bianca, sat on the edge of the river, her feet dangling beneath the water. She smiled as Nico sat down beside her. Hazel sat on a blanket with a muscular Asian kid, smiling and laughing, which caused the boy to blush. Beckendorf was already in the river, swimming after a girl with long black hair.

All that was left was the Native American girl that the Stolls decided needed to get in the water by throwing her in. Luke sat down next to Nico and leaned forward to talk to Bianca.

Percy stood there awkwardly, until Beckendorf spotted him and waved at him. "Percy, man, come on and stop being unsociable."

All eyes fell on Percy as he walked down the small hill. Luke was back on his feet in the next second and jogged up to Percy, putting an arm around the green-eyed boy. "Sorry, I almost forgot to introduce you to the rest of our company here." He walked up to Hazel and the boy she was with first. "So, I think you ran into Hazel already."

The girl held out her hand. "We had a run in on his first day."

Percy smiled and shook her hand. "Sorry to hear about Thursday."

Hazel frowned. On Thursday, the kids at school had thought it would be funny to recreate the movie _Carrie_ by throwing pig's blood on the poor girl. A tall and beautiful woman with long black hair that curled like some princess out of a fairytale had come to pick her up. And, thanks to Chiron, the kids had been suspended for a week.

Luke rubbed the back of his neck. "And this is her boyfriend, Frank."

The muscular kid stood up and eyed Percy over for a moment before a warm smile spread across his lips and he held out his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Percy glanced down to take the kid's hand. He frowned as he shook it. A small gash ran across Frank's palm, looking rather unpleasant. "Percy Jackson." His brow furrowed. "That looks like a pretty bad cut. Shouldn't you get it looked at?"

"Ah." Frank retracted his hand and rubbed it. He shrugged. "I'll be all right." The large kid smiled before looking down at his hand. "I wasn't really paying attention, and ended up cutting myself."

Percy glanced from Frank's eyes to his hand. It did not look like a simple cut. But Percy kept his mouth shut, not wanting to butt into what could potentially be personal matters. Instead, he focused back on Hazel. "You okay?"

The girl nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, just took a few showers to get it all off."

"Hazel here is actually Bianca, Medea, and Nico's cousin," Luke said. Percy's eyebrows rose at that. "Nico's uncle married her mother."

Hazel smiled again, drawing her legs up to her chest. "And they've been nice enough to take care of me after my momma's passing."

"I'm sorry." Percy scratched his cheek. "What happened to your dad?"

"He's the one who left me in the care of his brother." The girl rested her chin on her knees as she stared up at Percy. "Hades said he had some business to look into."

Percy glanced at Luke. "Hades?"

"Nico's father," the blond replied. "It's where he gets his moody behavior."

"I heard that!" Nico yelled over at them. Percy and Luke turned to find the boy glaring at them, his legs drawn up to his chest as he sat on the edge of the river.

Luke held his hand up to his mouth. "You were meant to!" He called back. The blond chuckled and shook his head. "Just as stubborn as the man, too." Hazel laughed at that. "Let's see," Luke tapped a finger to his lips, "next is Piper."

The girl that the twins had tossed in had climbed out of the water and sat herself by Bianca. She had taken her top off, revealing a black and white bikini top. The girl was busy wringing her soaked shirt, glaring at the twins, when Luke and Percy walked up beside her.

Luke tapped her with his foot. The girl shook her wet hair before smiling up at the two of them. "You must be the new kid that Luke has talked so much about." She stood up and held out her hand. "I'm Piper McLean."

"Percy Jackson." The tall boy glanced over, finding Nico watching them from the corner of his eye. A frown sat on the pale boy's lips. "And, yeah, I just moved here."

"Sucks to be you, I guess. Not the best place to get shipped off to."

"Aw, don't say that, Piper," Luke grinned. "I'm sure this place would be paradise, if we weren't around."

Piper brushed some of her hair out her face with a smile. "Don't listen to him, these people would find something to hate on, even without us."

"And this," Luke motioned down to Bianca, who was watching them in amusement, "is one of my favorite people in the world."

Bianca stood up with a roll of her eyes. Piper sat down, but Percy noticed she scooted away from Nico. The pale boy was staring at the water, his bangs falling into his eyes. Bianca scoffed and put her hands on her hips. "Don't lie, Luke Castellan, we all know you favor my brother."

Luke shrugged. "He is a good cuddler."

Nico shot the blond a death glare. "I do not cuddle."

Luke's eyes shined with mischief. "It's not nice to lie."

"I will put you six feet under, Castellan." Nico was about to get up to act on his threat, but Bianca motioned for him to sit back down, laughing. "Asshole."

Bianca sighed, a smile still gracing her lips. "Don't mind them." She placed a hand on her chest. "I'm Bianca di Angelo, Nico's sister, if you haven't figured that out by our similar appearances." She shook Percy's hand. "I'm also the one who inherited our mother's good looks."

Luke grinned down at her brother. "Aw, but Nicky looks cute."

The tips of said boy's ears turned pink. "Are you saying I look like a girl, Castellan?"

Bianca waved him off. "No, you look like our father. And he is very handsome." She winked at Percy. "Please excuse the children."

"Um, I'm older that you," Luke pointed out.

Bianca playfully shoved his shoulder. "Only by a few months, and I still act more mature than you."

"Nico, your sister is being mean to me."

Nico rolled his eyes and the blond grinned. "Just finish the introductions."

"Oh yeah." Luke whistled, drawing the attention of Beckendorf and the girl in the river. "Come here, you two."

Swimming over, Beckendorf helped the girl with raven hair out of the water. She ran her fingers through it with the most endearing smile. She was tall and thin, with a pair of beautiful blue eyes. She seemed to radiate beauty, like flowers might actually start blooming as she walked by. Percy felt his face heat up.

Beckendorf took Percy's hand and shook it. "Nice of you to join us, man." He tossed his thumb over his shoulder. "This is Silena, my girlfriend."

She smiled, her teeth pure white. "Nice to meet you. Silena Beauregard." She nodded towards Piper. "And I do claim to be her older sister."

More family relations that shared different surnames. It did not bother Percy; it was just proving hard for him to keep up with. His brow furrowed as he pointed towards Silena. "And Drew's sister, yeah?"

The girl chuckled. "Yes, unfortunately. Tanaka would be her last name."

The green-eyed boy scratched his head. "Why don't they just all take your dad's last name?"

"Actually," Silena shifted her weight," it's my mom's last name. I guess you could call us a matriarchal family." She shrugged. "She's remarried a few times, and the town has now labeled her as the black widow."

Percy arched a brow. "They think she killed her spouses."

Silena opened her mouth a few times. Her eyes darted over to Luke before blowing out a breath. "Um, yeah, they think that. But my mom is happy, and I guess that's what matters." She motioned to Piper. "Still married to Tristan, and she seems happy with the guy." The girl laughed. "I guess that's a bit of information to take in, but I do know that the town likes to gossip about my dear mother."

Silena was one of the few that Percy noticed who spoke with a hint of a southern accent. Not to be stereotypical, but he was not really surprised with a last name like Beauregard. He did feel a little bad for that thought. Percy reached up and scratched his chest. His eyes roamed around the river, until they landed on Nico.

The boy was studying him again. Percy's brow furrowed and he shifted his weight. Nico's eyes narrowed ever so slightly before he cast his eyes back to the water. And when Percy looked away, he found Bianca staring at him curiously. Her dark eyes glanced over to her brother before returning her gaze to Percy. But before she could say anything, Luke spoke up.

"Well I'm ready for some swimming."

When the blond yanked his shirt off, Percy finally got a look at the necklace Luke kept hidden beneath his shirt. Like Nico's, it was circular and looked like it might fit into something. A turquoise stone sat in the center, the Castellan name scrawled inside it. The caduceus that was on the twins' bracelets was etched above the name. A silver snake wrapped around the top and bottom of the stone.

Luke did not jump in with it on, though. He sat it down on top of his shirt before diving head first into the water. Silena, Beckendorf, and Piper were not wearing any noticeable jewelry. Though, they might have already removed it. The twins had probably taken their bracelets off as well.

Hazel removed her ring and sat it on the blanket. Standing to her feet, she walked over to the edge before sliding beneath the water. Percy noted that Frank wore a similar necklace to Luke and Nico, another crest.

A bright citrine stone bore the name 'La Rue', a boar sitting above it. Two silver boar tusks held the stone in place from the sides. It hung from a silver chain from around the Asian boy's neck.

Bianca's jewelry was in the form of a necklace. This one, however, was not similar to that of her brother's. This one was slightly smaller, and bore no name inside the black stone that sat in its center. Silver wings spread out from both sides of the stone, sort of reminding Percy of the snitch from the _Harry Potter_ series. In the center sat the same skull that was in the rest of her family's jewelry.

Percy stood there for a moment, while the others had already begun swimming in the river-save for Nico. The jewelry seemed important somehow. They all wore it, but some carried unique pieces. Matching pieces? What was the significance, though?

"Are you going to swim or just stand there?"

Percy blinked and focused on Nico. "Um, just thinking."

Nico's brow furrowed. "Just don't hurt yourself too much." He turned his attention back to the lake. "Judging us already?"

Percy stepped forward, coming to the edge of the river. He stared down at Nico. "No. I'm not working an angle, or whatever it is you might think I'm doing. Is it wrong for me to actually want to be friends with you guys?"

Nico's lips tilted down, though he chose not to look at Percy. "That's usually how it goes around here. There were a few that tried to be nice to us a couple of years back." Nico paused and blew out a breath. His brown eyes finally returned to Percy, seeming brighter in the light of the sun. "But it turned out they just wanted to find some sort of evidence to prove the rumors about us. So, yeah, I'm a little skeptical."

"I'm not like that." Percy kicked his shoes off and sat down next to the boy, who regarded him carefully. "I'm not trying to mess with you guys. I really do feel bad for how the lot of you seem to be treated. I don't think you're weird."

Nico chewed on his lip for a few seconds. His eyes turned to the others that were in the water. "We'll see if that lasts."

Percy smiled at him. Nico glanced at him before scoffing and turning away. Percy chuckled and stood back up. Yanking his shirt over his head, he tossed it to the side. Nico's eyes darted back to Percy while he stretched his arms above his head.

Percy grinned. "See something you like? Feel free to stare." Nico glared up at him. The green-eyed boy chuckled and sat back down on the bank. "Thanks for letting me tag along, though."

Nico grunted, turning away from Percy. "Luke just felt sorry for you. I wasn't the one who suggested it."

"It was still nice."

Nico's brown eyes studied him from the side. "You're very...odd."

Percy smiled. "You're one to talk, or so I hear."

Nico rolled his eyes. "Well what can I say about rumors? They have to have some truth to them, right?" The corner of the boy's lip tilted up in a mischievous smirk. "Besides, the doom and gloom factor gives me extra credit when it comes to warding off the devout Bible boy." His eyes darkened. "Though, I suppose there is some satisfaction in turning some religious straight boy gay."

Percy smirked. "You can turn me anytime."

Nico pulled back and huffed. "You're no fun." Percy shrugged. "How am I supposed to get you to leave me alone if you're not freaked out by this stuff?" The pale boy scrunched his lips. "I guess Luke was right about you being gay."

Percy's eyebrows rose in surprise. "I'm not gay."

Nico drew back in surprise. His forehead wrinkled. "What? But Luke said you had a boyfriend before."

Percy nodded his head slowly. "Yes, but I like girls as well. I'm bisexual."

"Oh." Nico drew his legs up. "Well stop flirting with me."

Percy smirked. "I'm not, just picking. You make it fun." He shrugged. "I already get the feeling you're not interested."

Nico rolled his eyes and stared off to where Luke was swimming with the others. "I'm sorry about not being able to find your family." The corner of Nico's lips tilted down. "But maybe it's for the best. The people around here aren't your ideal family." He glanced at Percy. "Are you sure it's your father's parents? Maybe it's your mother, and that's why they don't have your last name."

Percy shook his head. "My aunt specifically said it was my father's family I was looking for. But I mean, it seems like a lot of kids in your families have different last names? Maybe mine-"

Nico shook his head. "Just our families, and I've never heard of any Jacksons." He stared at Percy for a moment, a hard look in his eyes. "What happened to your parents anyways?"

Percy reached up and scratched his chest. "Gang violence." Judging by the look on Nico's face, it was best if Percy continued with an explanation. He gave a lopsided smile, his heart sinking in his chest. "My parents had taken me out to celebrate my first win on the swim team. It was my freshman year, and I had been very excited about making the team, so my parents thought it best to take me out." Brown and green met when Percy looked up from the water to look into Nico's eyes. "But we ended up crossing into some gang territory on the way to get some ice cream."

Nico looked down, holding one of his knees just under his chin. "I'm sorry," he whispered.

Percy shook his head. "It's okay. It just happened so fast. I just remember seeing this one guy smoking under a streetlight. The next thing I know, he pulls out a gun and shoots my dad." Percy ran his tongue along the inside of his mouth. "My mom died before the cops and ambulance could get there. I don't remember any of it, though. I was just told reports. I had gotten shot as well and blacked out. The next thing I remember is waking up in the emergency room several hours later." Percy's eyes seemed far off as he watched the river flowing past them. "Not the best way to start off high school," he said with a strained laugh. He cleared his throat and looked back over to Nico.

Nico's brow furrowed as he stared at Percy. "I, uh...I'm sorry. Believe me, I know what it's like to have someone stolen from you."

Percy and Nico stood up. He tilted his head to the side and scratched his cheek. "Oh yeah? So, like, is that why Luke stopped himself from going to punch those football kids?" Percy asked innocently. Nico stiffened. "I mean, I figure it had to be something big to influence him like that. Did something like that happen before? Or did someone die?"

Nico's eyes darkened. Percy's eyes widened, receiving a shove from Nico. Percy's arms flailed as he fell backwards, splashing into the water. He surfaced and spit out some water. He stared at the brown-eyed boy as he walked away.

"What did I do?"

* * *

Percy found himself sitting on a rock about an hour later. He had swum down the river a bit with Luke before turning around and walking back on the shoreline. It was so quiet out here, save for the sound of the river and the yelling of teenagers.

He liked to think himself an 'outdoors' type of guy, but he had never really spent time in nature. Today had been a little different. Nature could be evil, as it turned out. During his walk back, he and Luke had even encountered a pissed off squirrel, who apparently did not like their trespassing underneath its tree. Percy had received an acorn to the face for his crimes.

And, when he had gotten back in the river, the twins had decided to tell him that it was not uncommon for there to be poisonous snakes in the river. Not long after that, something had brushed against his leg in the water. And that was how Percy had ended up on top of his rock, glaring at the twins, who were laughing their heads off.

But, looking around, he could see the upside to living in a place like this. Part of him wondered why his father left this place to begin with. The waters, the outdoors, it seemed like the type of place his father would enjoy.

He wondered how different his life would have been if his parents had raised him here.

Would things have been different for him? Maybe his parents would still be alive. But he might have ended up like the rest of this town, a bigot that persecuted these families for being different. Not likely, Percy thought to himself. His parents had never really been the type to do that. But maybe that was why they left. Perhaps Percy's father did not agree with the rest of his family.

Percy's green eyes fell upon Nico, who had not once gotten in the water. The boy still sat on the shoreline, dipping his feet beneath the water. Percy frowned to himself as he watched the pale boy. He grunted and pulled his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them.

What was it that drew him to Nico in the first place? He had been paying the boy a lot of attention, and he could not really put his finger on why that was. There was just something about the di Angelo boy that made Percy want to be his friend. Nico seemed so isolated, so sad. It did not seem right to Percy that a boy like Nico should be this way.

Nico was defensive and guarded, with plenty of good reason. He could be cold as well, but Percy was starting to see the boy underneath. It just took the friends that Nico did have to see it.

Percy was drawn from his thoughts by a sweet sound to his ear, coming from a place he had not been expecting. Bianca shrieked and tossed a fish into the water. The twins cackled behind her, quickly receiving a glare from the girl. But it had been Nico's laughter that had drawn Percy's attention.

The boy laughed and smiled, watching his sister chase after Travis and Connor. The boy drew his legs up to his chest and calmed his laughter. But Nico kept smiling, and it was a nice sight to behold for Percy. He had been starting to think that Nico was incapable of such an action.

Luke plopped down next to Nico and offered him a Coke, which the boy declined. The blond reclined on his elbows, taking a quick drink himself. Percy suddenly felt like he was intruding. While they were out in the open, Percy was starting to think that there might have been some truth to the rumors about the two of them. They did seem a little closer than friends.

Nico did not seem as embarrassed with looking at Luke's body, like he had with Percy's own. He even placed a hand on Luke's bare stomach. The blond smiled and held his hand out towards Nico's face, where the pale boy reached out and intertwined their fingers. Nico frowned and narrowed his eyes at something Luke said.

Percy slipped back into the water and swam closer. Nico shook his head at something. Luke sighed and jumped to his feet before reaching down and yanking Nico up with him. By the time Percy reached the edge of the river, Luke had already taken Nico over to a basket of food that one of the other kids must have brought.

Percy pulled himself out of the water and reached for his towel, wiping it across his face. Luke held out a sandwich, which Nico seemed reluctant to take. "Nico, you need to eat something. I know you didn't eat breakfast." Nico still did not take it. "If you're feeling light headed, you should eat something."

"I'm not hungry," Nico mumbled, almost to the point where Percy had to strain to hear.

Luke grabbed Nico's face with his free hand and made the boy look up at him. "What's going on, Nico?" The boy shook his head in response. "Nico." Luke let out a sigh. "You were pretty insistent about sleeping over last night. I knew something was bothering you, I just didn't want to say anything."

"Nothing's different."

"I've known you since you were born, Nico," Luke hissed. He grabbed Nico's wrist when the boy tried to move away. "You tell me everything, like I do you, you can tell me this. I do notice small changes in your behavior."

"You're acting like me asking to sleep over, or not wanting to eat, is uncommon." Nico yanked his arm free. "I've never kept what bothers me from you, you've known ever since it started happening."

Luke held out the sandwich again, and Nico finally accepted it. The blond sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yes but you've been getting worse. And after last weekend, I'm very concerned. What are they doing to do this to you?"

"Something's wrong, I just haven't figured out what." Nico stared down at the sandwich that he had been given. "There's something wrong in-" Nico shivered. The boy's head darted towards the woods.

Luke followed Nico's gaze and frowned. "What?"

Without responding, Nico took off walking towards the border of the woods, Luke following after him. Percy craned his next to stare after them, debating on going to see what was wrong.

"Drink?"

Percy jolted around to find Bianca sitting beside him. She smiled at him and held out a Sprite. "Um," Percy blinked a few times, "no thanks." He frowned. "Everything all right?" He tossed his thumb over to where her brother and Luke had gone.

Bianca waved it off. "I'm sure everything is fine. Maybe Nico just heard something." She opened the Sprite for herself. "You want anything at all? We have plenty of food and drinks."

"I'm fine." Percy smiled at her. He glanced over to where the two boys had disappeared into the woods a final time. "Is Nico all right?" Bianca cocked her head to the side. "It doesn't seem like he sleeps very much, and I've seen Luke try to get him to eat more twice now."

Bianca sighed and took a sip of her drink. "He hasn't been the same since our mom passed. And on top of that...well, he just went through some changes around thirteen." She offered a sad smile and a shrug. "Luke's been helping me look after him ever since mom died."

Suddenly, Percy felt like an ass. He flinched and wanted to kick himself. He had been so stupid. They had just been talking about Percy's parents, and Percy had completely missed the signs that Nico had lost a parent as well. As if the fact that Nico had a stepmother might not have been a clue already.

"I'm sorry," Percy whispered. "Must've been hard."

The girl nodded. "Nico took it pretty harshly. It was getting close to his thirteenth birthday at the time, and in our family that's a pretty big age. So he was pretty depressed when his birthday finally came around." She smiled. "I wouldn't go showing him pity, though. I know he can be sad to look at sometimes, but that doesn't make my brother weak. And he's too stubborn and proud to accept someone's pity or worry."

Percy chuckled. "I'm just trying to be his friend, if he'll let me."

Bianca observed him in silence. She placed her drink down before opening her mouth. "If that's all you're after."

Percy blinked, not understanding what she meant at first. And then it hit him. The tips of his ears turned pink. "Oh! No, um, I just am interested in getting to know him is all." Bianca arched a brow at him. "He just seemed lonely in class, and I just wanted to be his friend." He cleared his throat. "My aunt says I inherited my mom's compassion for others, so I didn't really like seeing how others were treating him. And my dad's protectiveness."

Bianca smiled warmly. "Yeah, he says you're trying to be 'some knight in shining armor', and that doesn't really fly with him. The last thing my brother wants is to be treated like a princess."

Percy's brow furrowed as he watched the water ripples that his moving feet were causing. Why did she need to tell him that? Percy just wanted to be friends with Nico, not date. And even if he did, it seemed Luke already had the boy claimed. Nico did not seem like his type: resistant to affection, touch, and was probably as cold as ice when it came to being intimate. Not really the type of person Percy would be interested in dating.

Bianca's eyebrows rose as her phone went off. She reached behind her and grabbed her phone from where it lay in her bunched up shirt in the grass. "Yes, Papa?" The way she said it was more spaced out, popping her lips in the middle of the nickname. Her brow furrowed. "Okay, I'll let them know." She sighed and closed her phone. "Percy, would you mind going to fetch my brother? Something's come up, and we need to get home."

Percy nodded and jumped up, heading in the last direction he had seen Luke and Nico go. The trees were fairly spread out, yet close enough that they kept out most of the sunlight. Percy looked up at the sound of thunder. The storm had come in fast, he thought to himself. Grey clouds were closing in fast.

He found Nico leaning against a tree. Luke stood about four feet in front of him, arms crossed. Nico's eyes were narrowed. The shadow of the trees seemed to reach out and blanket him in darkness. A faint chill ran across Percy's nearly naked form. He wrapped his arms around himself and moved to step closer, ready to call out to the two boys, but Nico snapped first.

"Just leave me alone." The boy glared at the blond in front of him, who was not really meeting Nico's gaze. "I don't care, I've had enough of this."

"Nico, keep your voice down," Luke hissed.

Nico's head slowly turned, like he was cracking his neck. The boy closed his eyes and shivered. "Fucking hell," he said, barely above a whisper. Another chilly breeze hit Percy before Nico's head jerked towards him. Nico's eyes were so dark and piercing, like a knife. "What the hell are you doing out here?"

Luke cleared his throat and moved towards where Percy stood beside a tree. "Sorry about that, Percy, Nico and I were having a talk." He glanced at the boy behind Nico. Nico was staring at the tree opposite him. "He's just a little cranky today. What's up?"

"Um," Percy glanced over to Nico before returning his eyes to Luke, "Bianca wanted me to get you. Nico's dad called, said you all needed to come home."

Luke and Nico looked at each other. Nico cursed under his breath and took off towards the river. Luke's normally happy face seemed serious all of a sudden. "I guess I need to get you home." He scratched his head. "All right, let's get going."

When they got back, everyone had gotten dressed. And, as predicted, Silena, Piper, and Beckendorf had their own pieces of jewelry. Piper was slipping on a golden bangle that had small amethysts around its center. On the bottom hung several charms: a dove, a seashell, and the Venus symbol.

Silena was putting in a pair of amethyst earrings, the same necklace that Frank, Luke, and Nico had hung from her neck. This too had an amethyst stone in it, the Beauregard name inscribed beneath it. A dove had been drawn above the name. The golden medallion itself had four prongs that went towards the center to hold the stone in place.

Beckendorf wore a similar necklace as well, his being made of what looked like iron. His surname had been written underneath a garnet stone. A hammer overlaying a fire had been drawn above the name. A black chain had been melded over the top and bottom of the garnet stone.

Nico was already climbing into a small black car. Luke grabbed the passenger door that the boy was about to close. "You're gonna head over already?" Nico nodded at him. "Are you still coming over tonight?"

"Yeah, I'll be there."

Luke nodded. He tapped the door and closed it for Nico. Bianca smiled at him from the other side of the car's roof. "I'll tell your dad that you'll be there shortly," she said.

"Thanks." Luke gave her a nod. Hazel and Frank climbed into the back. The blond turned and headed towards where Percy was standing at his car. Luke fished the keys out of his pocket, waving at Beckendorf, Silena, and Piper as they drove off in the other car.

The twins were already seated in the back when Percy and Luke got in. Percy turned to the blond. "Everything okay?"

"Um, yeah," Luke said softly. He cranked the car, looking unconvinced of his answer. "Just an issue over our families' cemetery plot."

Percy's brow furrowed as he watched the wooded area pass by. How did Luke know there was an issue at a cemetery? Bianca had only gotten a phone call, and had not said anything besides the fact that they all needed to go home.

Thunder boomed overhead. The storm clouds blotted out the sunny sky that had been there just an hour earlier. "You think we could hang out tomorrow, or something?"

"Not sure yet." Luke's eyes refused to leave the road, clearly not caring to abide the speed limit.

Travis sat forward in his seat. "You know what this means, right?" Luke glanced at him in the rearview mirror, cocking an eyebrow. Travis glanced at his twin.

The other brunet scrunched his lips. "He'll be coming in." His blue eyes fell upon Travis. "You think Nico still wants to punch him?"

Luke let out a sigh. "Both of you, be quiet. I know he'll be coming up from New Orleans."

Travis shrugged. "Just saying. You'll have to see him, since you're a first."

Percy turned to face Luke. "First at what? Who's coming?"

"Oh, uh, nothing." Luke scratched his cheek. He seemed to forget Percy had been in the car. "Just a term we use." He shot a glare at the twins. "Just an old friend coming to visit."

The rest of the car ride was quiet. Whoever the twins had brought up, clearly was not someone Luke was going to be happy seeing. The blond kept tightening his grip on the steering wheel as he drove back. Percy glanced back at the twins once during the drive, wondering why they were being quiet. Travis had his chin propped up and was staring out the window, while Connor was resting on his shoulder.

By the time they got back, it looked like it might start raining at any second. Percy opened his door and got out, crouching down to stare at Luke. "Thanks for today, I had fun."

Luke smiled. "No problem, man. Sorry we had to cut it short, but I'm sure we can hangout again." He released a breath. "You know, you're welcome to eat lunch with us, if you want."

Percy blinked. "Thanks." He held up his hand in a wave. "I guess I'll see you Monday, if I don't see you before then."

Luke looked serious again. "Yeah."

Percy shut the door and stood up straight, stretching his arms. He adjusted the towel on his shoulder and headed towards his apartment stairs.

"Percy!"

He looked up to find Kinzie and Octavian climbing out of a car. The girl carried several containers worth of food in her arms. She smiled up at him as she briskly walked over. Percy waved at her. "Um, hi?"

Kinzie began handing him the food she carried. "Sorry about coming over unannounced, but Mrs. Dodds is having everyone at church try and make you something." She beamed up at him. "And, well, I spent all morning in the kitchen with mamma to help out."

"And, of course, to offer you an invitation to church," Octavian interjected.

"Oh." Percy looked down at the food. "Well, I still have some from when Mrs. Dodds dropped some off." He looked up his apartment. "You want to come inside? It looks like it might rain soon."

Kinzie smiled and let him lead the way. Once inside, Percy deposited the food into his refrigerator. Kinzie was busy looking around the tan boy's apartment. Octavian had set himself down on the couch.

"Um." Percy closed his mouth, wanting to cringe. Did he really want to decline this invitation? He had no desire to go. He was beginning to wonder if people got offended around here when people declined a church invitation. "Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll have to think over the church thing."

Octavian nodded. "That's cool. You already got one in mind?"

The green-eyed boy pursed his lips. How was he supposed to respond to this? Two things he had figured out in his week of being here that would be a problem for him: being an Atheist and his sexuality. He might end up getting lynched himself if he were to come out and announce those.

Percy rubbed his neck. "I'm just still adjusting to the town, taking some time to settle in."

Kinzie was inspecting a flower on a shelf that sat above his TV in a thin vase. "This is a very pretty flower."

"Thanks," Percy mumbled. "A friend from back home gave it to me to remember her by." He sighed.

Kinzie turned to face him, her lips pressed together in a thin line. "So, we couldn't help but notice who dropped you off." She shook her head lightly, taking a few steps. "The Castellans are like demons themselves, trouble incarnate. Those boys are never up to any good, Percy, and they're bound to get you in trouble as well."

He was starting to not like having these conversations. "They don't seem that bad. Have any of you tried to get to know them?"

Octavian scoffed. "No, but we've seen enough from them. Luke, the ringleader for the Castellan brood, didn't always have that scar, you know. Personally, I think his family put him through some Satanic ritual that involved knives."

Kinzie nodded. "Or those unexplained animal attacks." She shook her head. "The people that were attacked said the animals' eyes looked almost human. Tell me that isn't bizarre."

Percy's fists clenched from where he stood behind the kitchen counter. "Or what about Connor having a cross carved into his wrist?"

Kinzie pursed her lips. "I wasn't part of that."

"Though some of those kids couldn't even defend themselves from those allegations," Octavian mumbled.

Percy's brow furrowed. "What?"

"Oh, they didn't tell you?" Kinzie shook her head, tossing a glance at the blond on the couch. "Those 'horrible' kids that 'supposedly' did that ended up in the hospital not even a week later. Their bus wrecked on the way to a game. All of them were taken to the hospital, some ended up severely injured. One of them now has to use a wheelchair."

Octavian laced his fingers in front of his face, leaning forward. "And two of them died, bled out internally." He shrugged. "They were asked what happened, but to this day, none of them will comment on the accident."

"You can't just blame them for an accident, though." Percy shook his head. "That doesn't seem right."

"Percy," Kinzie said, reaching across the counter to touch his arm, "those kids are demons. And you're going to end up hurt or dead if you keep hanging around them. We're just trying to help. I don't want to see the devil get a hold of you."

Percy rubbed his face. Why hadn't Luke mentioned this to him? Luke wouldn't have tampered with the bus, would he? There had to be people on that bus that were not involved with the attack on Connor. Luke and the others would not do that, would they?

"Luke said that he never went after them after finding out."

Octavian stood up. "The servants of the devil don't have to go anywhere, not with those dark rituals." He slipped his hands into his pocket. "You should go checkout the courthouse. There are a lot of records on the strange happenings of this town. Perhaps then you'll start to believe the truth about these friends you're making."

* * *

There were a lot of screams. Percy jerked around, finding himself inside of a dark house. A door was kicked in by men carrying torches. A woman was yanked from her bed, a silver necklace being ripped from her neck. The pentagram symbol spun on the wooden floor until it fell flat. The house was burned to the ground with the woman and her family inside.

The scene changed around Percy. He stood out in a field; canon and gunfire could be heard in the distance. A large, old house was behind him, an army of Union soldiers slowly surrounding the place. The fields were being burned. A woman with long, flowing dark hair emerged from the house.

She held a hand up and the fire began to swirl and engulf the soldiers. The earth itself began to open up and swallow men as they turned to run away. The woman looked on with a glass of wine in hand. Her long hair flowed behind her gracefully as she turned to walk back inside the house, the sounds of dying soldiers still filling the air.

Percy jerked forward as his body was torn from the old plantation house. He jerked his head around as he found himself standing in a crowd of oddly dressed people. They reminded him of the pilgrims. The women had their hair up in buns and their bodies almost completely covered by self-made dresses. The men wore knee-length breeches with long vests and shirts. Both genders had shiny buckles on their shoes.

A woman with an elegant and timeless face stood amidst a small group of people. She had an arm around a teenaged boy around Percy's age. His eyes were dark and his black bangs just barely hung into his eyes, the back of it up in a ponytail.

"No!"

Percy spun around to find a woman being dragged from a cart towards a barrel beneath a tree. The man in front of her dragged her by her hair, causing the young woman to stumble every few feet. She wore rags and had no shoes on. She was brought in front of the barrel, where people bowed their heads.

"Where is my family now?" She spat bitterly. "A curse upon you all." A faint wind blew in the air. "A curse on our family!" She spat on the ground, several people in the front of the crowd taking a step back. "The coven will burn, bleed from the inside. You will be your own undoing, this I swear!"

She yanked a knife from the man that had dragged her up there and slit her palm before anyone could react. As the dagger was torn from her hand, she held her palm up and a laugh. The wind howled as her hands were bound behind her back.

"There is no family in this coven!" She yelled just before the barrel was kicked out from under her.

Percy's breath hitched as the world was yanked out from under him. His hair whipped in his face, dead leaves being blown by. The boy yelled as his body was pulled into darkness, down into the earth. He stumbled when his feet came in contact with the ground.

Green eyes blinked as they stared at a stone door in front of him. Glancing around, he found small torches burning on the walls. Pillars held the ceiling up, droplets of water occasionally falling from it. Old skulls protruded from the wall.

On the stone door were carvings, written in a language that Percy could not understand. There was no handle, though, no way of visibly opening it. There were only two things Percy could see upon this door. The first were three markings in the very center. Two crescent shapes sat on each side of a circular indention that represented a full moon. The second was a small stone bowl protruded from the door in its center, a dagger placed on top of it.

Percy was yanked backwards, yelling loudly. He was pulled through the air and flung out into the night sky. He tumbled through the grass and leaves. A large oak door was slammed in his face. An old house now stood before him. Not old in the sense that it might fall apart soon, but that it looked like it had stood there for many years and still managed to look freshly built.

There were no cracks in its architecture, no flaw that Percy could find. Vines wrapped around some of the pillars on the large porch, and even stretched out across portions of the walls and windows. A small lantern sat beside the door, encased in glass. The stone steps leading up to the door were completely spotless.

His eyes widened as he was pulled towards the door.

Percy jerked up in bed, breathing heavily. His eyes were wild as he searched around his room, finding himself back in his bedroom. He let out a breath and fell back on his pillow. The boy made a face as he wiped a hand across his sweaty torso.

He tossed the covers back and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Blowing out a breath, Percy stood up and padded towards the kitchen. He made a face and reached around to adjust the backside of his boxers, which wanted to stick to his butt.

The green-eyed boy grabbed a glass from a cabinet and ran it under the faucet before raising it to his lips for a drink of water. He was about to refill his glass when he heard the floor creak behind him. Sitting the glass down, he slowly crept towards the hallway. Squinting into the darkness, Percy tried to see anything.

"Hello?"

Silence. Percy scratched his back, checking behind him. Nothing. He froze at the sound of a door slowly closing. Inching towards his bedroom, he turned the corner and flipped on the light.

His closet door tapped against the wall, but Percy could not see anyone nearby it. Walking over, he flipped the switch and peered inside the closet. No one was there. His breath hitched, a chill running down his spine, at the sound of something scraping against the wall in the hallway. It was like someone was dragging their nails along the surface, slowly making their way towards Percy's bedroom.

Creeping over to his bed, Percy slowly reached out and grabbed his baseball bat. The sound stopped and Percy raised it behind his head. He waited, but nothing appeared in the doorway. Swallowing a lump in his throat, Percy walked towards the hallway and peered around his apartment.

There was no one to be found.

After inspecting every inch of the place, Percy collapsed on his couch. He ran a hand through his hair as he glanced at the door. It was still locked, just like Percy had left it. There had been no windows open, no sign of anything amiss. But Percy still knew what he had heard.

Leaning forward, Percy buried his face in his hands. He glanced at a clock. It was just a little past three in the morning. He was not going to be able to go back to sleep. Percy was wide awake now, his heart still pounding in his chest. Releasing a breath, he got up and headed towards his bedroom.

Grabbing an old shirt, Percy slipped it on with some shorts. He went back into the living room, where he slid his feet into some blue tennis shoes. Making sure to grab his keys and iPod, the green-eyed boy slipped out of his apartment.

It was still the dead of night. There was a dead silence filling the air as Percy descended the stairs of his building. A heavy fog had come in at some point during the night. The tall youth slipped his earbuds in before jogging towards the road.

The athletic boy jogged towards the school. He found himself on the track field, where he ran in an attempt to clear his head. Perhaps that dream had just gotten to him. It had felt like he had actually been there, he had even been able to smell the smoke.

After an hour of swapping between jogging, walking, and running, Percy laid himself down in the grass, not caring that it was wet. His heart pounded against his chest, his adrenaline still pumping. A sense of familiarity was in that dream, but he just was not able to place his finger on it. He scrunched his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose. It was like a fog was already covering his mind. His arms dropped to his sides with a heavy sigh. His breathing soon slowed as he drifted off to sleep.

Percy jumped up when the sprinklers went off. He yelled and dashed off of the grass. He was not that soaked, thankfully. Scrunching his eyes, he glanced up. The sun was just breaking the horizon, so he could not have been asleep more than two hours. But even so, his mind was still spinning.

He took off jogging again. Percy ran for a long time, not really paying attention to where he was going. Some part of his mind acknowledged that he missed the turn to his apartment, but he did not stop running. His legs carried him through the woods and back onto the road, through a small field, and then onto an old dirt road. Percy slowed down when he ended up back in the woods.

He bent over and rested his hands on his knees, panting heavily. His body was completely drenched in sweat now, but he had never felt more awake. When he stood up, he found an end to the woods. Percy staggered forward.

An old, black iron gate stood before him. Inside of it were tombstones, both new and old. There were even marble statues in front of some of the graves. At the very center, built partially into the ground, was a crypt of some kind. Percy swallowed and walked around for a bit.

When he found the entrance, he stepped inside, the grate creaking on him. He moved quietly through the graveyard until he stood in front of the crypt. There were no special markings on it, not even a family name to decipher if it belonged to a certain family. A stone door had been placed there to block entry. In the center were odd lines and half triangles. Two small pillars had been crafted into the stone of the entryway.

Percy cocked his head to the side, leaning in to inspect the markings on the door. He could not decipher what they were supposed to do. They weren't words from any sort of language, that much he knew. They were just lines and pieces of triangles. Percy slowly reached out and ran his fingers across one of the triangle shapes.

"Mighty early for a young lad like yourself to be out in a cemetery, wouldn't you say?"

Percy nearly jumped out of his skin, jerking his hand back. He spun around to be greeted by a black and platinum tie. He slowly looked up about two inches to be met by a pair of dark eyes of a madman. The man's black hair was cut short and styled, a small beard covering his chin. He was also very pale, like he had not seen the sun in many years.

But he had not sounded angry when he had spoken to Percy. There was just a hint of southern drawl in his voice, giving it a rich but oily feel. However, he was watching Percy very closely, unsure of the youth's presence. Percy swallowed and looked down, noting the man was carrying a bouquet of roses.

The man gave him a toothless smile and reached out to pat the stone of the crypt. "Nice structure, isn't she?"

"Um," Percy swallowed, "yes, sir."

The man pressed his lips together, assessing Percy's appearance. "Isn't it a little early for someone as young as you to be running about? I'd imagine you'd prefer to still be in bed, or perhaps sitting in front of a television set, playing on a video game."

The way the man had pronounced his last two words made Percy cock his head to the side. The pale man had enunciated every syllable in video games.

"Gonna catch a cold, boy, standing around here with your mouth agape like that." The man nodded, eyeing Percy again. "Better run along, lest you catch one."

Did anyone even say lest anymore?

Percy rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, I was just out for a run." He motioned with his hands. "I just moved to town, and I'm not really familiar with the area, so I was just wandering around."

The man stroked his beard, still examining Percy. "New in town, you say?"

Percy slowly nodded. "Yes, sir."

Not breaking eye contact with Percy, the strange man pointed to his right. "Back through the gate, take the old-looking path. You'll come to a road, it'll take you back towards town."

"Thank you."

The man hummed in response. Percy briskly walked away from the man and the crypt, only turning to look when he was closing the gate. The man was crouched down in front of a grave, where he placed the roses carefully. Percy lowered his gaze and quickly headed the way he had been instructed.

When he reached the road, Percy stopped. Down the road a piece, on his left, he could barely make out an iron gate. Houses, Percy thought. Was he nearby Luke and the others' houses? He must have run further than he originally thought. Letting out a yawn, Percy began his trek back towards town.

The fog was still lingering in the town when Percy got back to his apartment. His first order of business? A shower. He let out a groan as the hot water cascaded down his body. He had not realized how sore he was until he had finally stopped running.

Percy turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, grabbing a fresh towel. Padding from the bathroom to his bedroom, he plucked his phone off the bed. Scrolling through his contacts quickly, he raised the phone to his ear.

It rang a few times before Luke picked up with a groan. "Percy?" Came the blond's rough voice. He must have just woken up, Percy thought. "What's up? It's early."

"Um, sorry." He glanced at a clock. It was just a little past eight now. "I was seeing if everything was all right? You guys seemed a little upset yesterday."

"Um, yeah, everything is fine. It turned out to be nothing. Ow!" Luke hissed and pulled the phone away from his mouth, mumbling something that Percy was unable to make out.

There was a groan, followed by a shifting nearby Luke. "I'm still trying to sleep, shut up," came Nico's groggy voice.

"Sorry, sorry," Luke mumbled. "One second, Percy."

Percy heard the bed shift before footsteps could be heard. A door opened and closed, and then it sounded like the blond was walking down the stairs. Percy guessed that Nico really did sleep in the same bed as Luke. He had just thought they had been joking yesterday. But he supposed this did mean they were dating.

Luke cleared his throat. "Sorry about that. Yeah, don't worry, it turned out to be nothing. An old friend of Nico's family thought he saw someone trespassing. Thought there might be some trouble."

"Oh, good." Percy nodded his head, even though Luke could not see it. "So, are you busy today? Maybe we could hang out again."

Luke chuckled. He let out a groan. "I'd really like to, but I've got some work I've got to get caught up on. My dad will kill me if I don't." The blond cleared his throat again. "Most of us are going to be busy today."

Percy's shoulders slumped. "Oh. Well, that's okay. Um, I guess I'll try to find something to do."

"Sorry, man. If we find some time, I'll give you a call, yeah?"

"That's fine," Percy whispered.

"Luke, light of my life, please put some clothes on," came a new voice over the phone.

"Sorry, dad!" Luke called back. "Just woke up."

A woman's laughter could be heard. "At least he has underwear on."

Luke blew his lips. "Sorry about that, parents are up. You could try going to the park, but I mean, the only people you will probably find are the church kids. As much as I dislike them, I think you're smart enough to not be drawn in by them. And I'd hate for you to die of boredom before we see you again, so I guess try them.

Percy let out a small chuckle. "I'll try not to let them make me as crazy as them. Um, I don't know, I might go, but probably not."

"There's really not a lot to do in this town."

"So I've noticed," Percy mumbled. "If worse comes to worst, I'll just stay here and do some organizing or homework."

"Wow, you must be bored."

"Yeah," Percy chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess I'll let you go, so you can get ready."

"Okay. I will talk to you later then. Call me if you need anything."

"Bye." Percy hung up the phone, dropping it back on his bed. With a groan, he fell onto the bed and buried his face into the sheets. He was going to die of boredom in this town. It was not that he was trying to judge the religious kids, but somehow Percy thought Luke and the others would be the more entertaining bunch.

Percy rolled onto his back, putting an arm behind his head. His body was still sore. Perhaps he should just take the day to rest. He was in the south, and they did believe Sunday was the day to rest. When in Rome, right? Letting out a sigh, Percy decided it seemed like the best course of action after all. Besides, he thought to himself, he was sure the coming week was not going to give him much of a break.

The three moons in his dream were still weighing on his mind. He felt like he should know where that symbol had come from. It seemed like he had studied it in school once, or perhaps ran across it in some research. That would give him something to do today, he supposed.

His bedroom door slammed shut, causing the boy to sit up with a start. His eyes were wide as he scanned the room. Perhaps he would not be getting any rest today.

* * *

_A little faster than I thought I was going to be. But that's because I've decided to put my primary focus on this and Children of Loss, and only worry about Shadows when I feel inspired. Which I am getting some ideas for it, so it may not be too long before I get something written for it. Now for a dilemma I have with this story. There's a word that I know a few characters in this story might use. The problem is I hate this word and find it offensive. It's not homophobic, it's racist. I cannot say how much I dislike this word, but I know a few characters in this that would use it. I might just let this be a time that I let my own beliefs effect the story and not use it. I'm sure most of you can guess the word I'm referring to, it starts with the letter 'N'. I just don't think I could bring myself to use it, regardless of a character's personality._

_There's a bit of a glimpse for what I'm planning on doing with Percy and Nico in this fic. Sort of a reverse from Children, and have Nico seem like the unobtainable thing this time. But not like an instant "I want you" thing. As Percy stated this chapter, he's not romantically interested in Nico at this point. This one is going to sort of being a friendship blooming into romantic feelings occasion. Anyways, what did you guys thing? Let me know. What part did you find the most interesting? What was something you picked up on or thought was strange? I'm going to do a little writing on chapter 32 of Children, so I will see you guys later. Peace._


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